


Winging it

by LadyIrina



Series: Best laid plans [8]
Category: Guardians of the Galaxy (Movies)
Genre: Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Saal has to do WHAT, beware of more man-smut, his pride may never recover, just a bit, starts off a bit funny, then a little angsty, whumpPeter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-10
Updated: 2016-03-22
Packaged: 2018-04-03 20:20:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 36,601
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4113634
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyIrina/pseuds/LadyIrina
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They're out of plans. Now they're just winging it as they go along.<br/>Saal gets a taste of the life of crime, Peter disappears and Yondu has a very special favor to ask of Garthan Saal...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A slightly funny and yet angsty start, but stay with me and it will turn lighter! I promise! ;)

Saal was running at full speed across the roof tops, jumping from building to building while laser shots kept narrowly missing him.

His heart was beating like crazy and he firmly denied himself to consider what would happen if he lost his balance or one of his pursuers got in a lucky shot.

Getting caught was not an option. 

He preferred not to die as well.

A flicker of optimism shot through him when Saal finally saw the building he'd been heading for.

All of this because of an acquaintance of Peter, a woman he'd had a thing with two years ago, had called in a favor and Saal had stupidly refused the Ravager to ignore her once they learned it was to aid the woman's teenage daughter.

A very bad man had stolen a disc containing sensitive information from the girl's work place. The man had then tried to force the girl into some lewd deal in exchange for the disc.

So Peter and Saal had agreed to steal back the disc, while the other Guardians were off doing their own thing and now the Centurion was running for his life across slippery roof tops.

Peter's face was far too known on this planet for him to get anywhere near the target, so Garthan Saal had embarked on his first burglar mission.  
In the name of good, of course.

Everything had gone without hitch and he'd just gotten his hands on the disc when a guard aiming to enter the abandoned office to enjoy a snack had stumbled upon Saal.  
After that, things had gone to hell pretty fast and he was now being chased by a group of very angry and very armed guards.

It was safe to say that Garthan Saal's legendary career as a burglar was well and truly at an end. He had no idea how Peter could consider this 'a good time'! 

A laser shot flew by his head, nearly singing his ear, and Saal flinched mid-jump.  
Too close!

The Centurion made his way onto the final roof and felt a wave of relief wash over him.

He was going to make it!

Not slowing down, it was only after he leaped into the air and off the roof that Saal realized how blindly he trusted Peter to be where he was supposed to be and catch him.

Fear didn't have time to set in before he landed hard on the wing of the Milano hovering by the building, low enough to be out of sight, and the dark haired man instantly scrambled towards the hatch to get inside.  
Once in safety, Saal allowed himself a moment to catch his breath while the ship quickly set course for space.

He patted the pocket containing his prize to make sure the disc was still there, wiped the sweat off his brow and headed towards the cockpit.

"I got it," Saal stated as he entered. "Nearly got my head blown off by angry guards, but I got it. Nice flying, by the way."

"Why thank ya kindly," a familiar voice said as the pilot got up and faced him.

Shock hit Saal hard, but instincts kicked in and he drew his blaster before speaking. "What the hell are you doing here? And where is Peter?"

Yondu Udonta chuckled and leaned against the pilot seat. "Now that is an excellent question. I'd like to know that myself."

Saal frowned, but did not lower the gun. "What do you mean?"

"I received a call from the kid, asking me to pick you up," Yondu drawled. "Said he wouldn't be able to make it."

"Why not?" Saal asked, increasingly tense and worried. Peter wouldn't abandon him without a damn good reason. "And why ask you?"

Yondu made a mock hurt face. "And here I thought you and me had gotten to become friends, with you complimenting my flying and all."

Saal clenched his jaw and felt his finger tighten slightly on the trigger. "Don't test my patience, Ravager."

Scoffing, Yondu did not seem overly threatened. "Don't get your panties in a twist, lawman. He promised me payment in the form of that disc there you're carrying. Why else would I be here?"

"You've already kidnapped and drugged me once," Saal pointed out in a dry tone.

Yondu leered. "Good times."

Not sure why, Saal felt his face flush with embarrassment. He didn't remember much after he got drugged, but Peter's evil grin whenever the topic was brought up encouraged Saal to never ask what had happened.  
Slowly lowering the gun, the Centurion cleared his throat. "Right, let's say I believe you, just for fun, what instructions did he give you?"

-

According to Yondu, the leader of the Ravagers had been minding his own damn business when suddenly there had been a call on the secret secure channel on his ship.  
(Saal was too afraid of the answer to ask why Yondu needed a secret secure channel in the first place...)

A very stressed Peter Quill had asked for Yondu to pick up the Milano on a nearby planet and be at the rendezvous point with Saal at the appointed time, in return he could have the disc and trade it for units as the girl's mother was pretty damn rich.

Saal frowned.  
Blackmail? Peter allowed Yondu to blackmail a woman they'd promised to help? And he'd abandoned the Milano as well? What the hell was going on? 

If Peter failed to contact him again before Yondu met up with Saal, they were to move on to pick up Gamora as scheduled. 

Saal was reluctant to believe anything that came out of Yondu's mouth, but he could see no reason why the Ravager would be lying about this.  
Yondu was a lot of thing, but charitable he was not. If Yondu was here, it was because Peter had struck a deal. But why? What had happened that forced him to seek out help from such a creature?

Considering his options, Saal finally came to a conclusion and holstered his phaser. "Okay."

"Okay?" Yondu snorted a laugh. "Okay what, boy?"

"Okay, I believe you," Saal stated and nodded towards the pilot seat. "Let's go get Gamora. She might know where Peter is. If not, hopefully he will at least have contacted her as well."

Yondu stared at him for a few seconds longer, then a predatory grin slowly slid over the Ravager's face. "You know, I'm starting to like you more and more, lawman."

Saal had to check himself from taking a startled step away or pulling his gun again, feeling strangely nervous. Which was ridiculous, really.  
Centurion Garthan Saal was armed, taller and had the Nova Force at his command. There was no way Yondu could overpower him or do him any real harm.

Though, these factors only mattered if Yondu played fair.

Which he didn't.

The leader of the Ravagers had managed to kidnap him once already, Saal reminded himself.

Dealing with Yondu was like having a rattlesnake for a pet. It could behave itself for years until the day it suddenly bit you. It was just their unpredictable nature.

Saal waited for Yondu to get back into the pilot seat before settling himself into the co-pilot seat.

His reservations about the blue skinned man would have to wait though. All that mattered was finding Peter and Yondu seemed willing to help him do just that.  
For now.

Yet, there was no denying that it would have been a lot easier to focus on his mission if not for the fact that Yondu would glance over at him, grinning, at random intervals.  
One time Saal was unable to hide a nervous twitch in his shoulders and the man actually winked at him in response!

(If the Centurion hadn't been certain that Peter would never have called Yondu for help unless he was in serious trouble, Saal would have cursed his partner to Crematoria and back for exposing him to this vulgar criminal.)

The journey to the planet where they were going to meet up with Gamora was a little more than a day's travel away.

Saal spent the time awkwardly trying to get more information about the call from Peter, if there was anything Yondu wasn't telling him or how Peter had appeared, but it Yondu either repeated what he'd already told him or said he didn't know.  
It was, mildly put, frustrating.

A frustration which was also fed by the fact that Saal wasn't worried about Yondu being disgusted by his scars, but rather feeling like a nervous upper class youth who had never been touched in his entire life who was stuck in a room with a lecher.

Worrying about Peter and not letting Yondu out of his line of sight, Saal exhaled heavily with relief when he saw the planet in the distance.

Yondu sent out a signal to Gamora once they were within reach and by the time the Milano touched ground, Gamora was already waiting.  
Saal just about bolted out of the cockpit and trotted down the ramp once it opened. "Gamora, it is so good to see you!"

Giving a light and surprised laugh, Gamora allowed Saal to give her a brief hug. "He's been that bad?"

Straightening, Saal was about to answer when the smile died on her face at what she saw behind him. He turned to see Yondu standing there and giving a light wave with a smarmy grin.

"Saal," Gamora said in an iron voice. "What is he doing here?"

-

Telling her what Yondu had told him, Saal felt the unease tighten even worse in his stomach when Gamora revealed that Peter had not been in contact with her at all since they'd dropped her off.  
Gamora stalked inside the Milano, sending Yondu a glare as she passed him, and headed for the common room where Saal followed.

"And he didn't say anything about what was going on? At all?" She asked.

Saal shook his head. "Yondu says no. All he said was for Yondu to meet up with me and if he wasn't there by then, we should get you."

Gamora halted in the middle of the room, frowning. "How does the idiot expect us to find him?"

Saal was about to voice his agreement with her, but was interrupted by a loud clearing of the throat.

"Not that this hasn't been fun," Yondu winked at Saal, "but my job here is done. Time to skedaddle! Where's my disc?"

Unsettled once again by the lewd gesture, Saal took automatically a step away this time before he could stop himself, but also place a protective hand over the pocket where he had the disc he'd stolen earlier.

"You're not leaving," Gamora declared.

Yondu huffed a laugh, raising his eyebrows. "Is that so, girlie?"

Narrowing her eyes, Gamora met his eyes with an unspoken threat in her own. "You're our only link to Peter. There must be something you're not telling us."

Yondu took a step towards her, ignoring Saal tensing up and almost going into a battle stance. "Now you listen here, sweetheart. I made a deal with the kid and I kept my end of it, so I'm getting paid. You got that?"

Gamora took a step towards him in turn, every bit the deadly assassin Saal liked to forget she was. "You're not going anywhere, Udonta, before we get Peter. You got that?"

Sensing how this was definitely going to end up in fighting and bloodshed, Saal quickly stepped between them. He held out a calming hand towards Gamora and faced Yondu. "Right, calm down, the both of you. Fighting won't help any of us."

Yondu rolled a shoulder, making a loud popping sound from his shoulder joint. "Oh, I don't know about that..."

"I said, stop it," Saal said, putting more strength into his voice, the one he'd once used on unruly Nova Corps soldiers, and was relieved to see the two ease down just a bit. "Yondu, if Peter did in fact promise you the disc, then I shall give it to you, you have my word. However, we need to find Peter and you're the one who spoke to him last. There has to be something, anything, you can tell us?"

Snarling annoyed, Yondu threw out his arms to underline his frustration. "I done told you everything! Several times already!"

Sighing, Saal nodded with defeat. "Alright..." He reluctantly fished the disc up from his pocket, ignoring Gamora's objection, and held it out towards the Ravager. "I'm choosing to trust you because Peter did. Don't make me regret this, Udonta."

Yondu was back to grinning again as he reached out for the disc and held it up to examine it. "Wouldn't dream of it, lawman." He leered at Saal. "Nice doing business with ya!"

Gamora rolled her eyes and Saal only managed a ghost of a polite smile.

As the Ravager turned to leave, the assassin turned to head for the cockpit. "I suggest we start by talking to the ones nearby where he parked the Milano. Maybe they saw something."

Saal nodded. "Sounds good to me. We should send a message to Drax and Rocket too."

Before anything else could be said or done, the communication screen started blinking and blaring with an incoming call.  
Saal, Gamora and Yondu all turned to stare at it.

-

Gamora was the first to react and darted over to accept the calls.  
The screen flickered for a moment, then it cleared and a familiar face appeared to them.

"Nebula," Gamora half-whispered.

"Sister," the woman on the screen mocked. 

"Nebula, what did you do?" Gamora sounded more worried than Saal had ever heard her before.

Glancing from Gamora to the screen, even at Yondu at one moment, Saal grew tenser by the second. His every instinct was screaming danger.

Nebula took a step to the side, allowing the camera to film what was behind her. "I have your precious boy."  
Peter was kneeling on the floor, a thug on either side of him holding him down, and he was pushed slightly forward to hover over a big container filled to the brink with what looked like water.

"Peter," Saal whispered, tightening his hands into fists. 

Gamora gave a little shake of her head. "Nebula, please... You don't have to do what he says..."

Nebula scoffed. "You think I'm still Thanos' servant? Oh no, my 'dear' sister, I've left that behind a long time ago. I take orders from no one."

"Then why this?" There was a taint of frustration to Gamora's voice now. "Why, if not on his command? It doesn't have to be this way! I told you, come with..."

"Because I hate you," Nebula interrupted and gave a light shrug. "And if I'm going to survive betraying daddy dearest, I'm going to need some servants of my own."

Barely noticing what was being said, Saal kept his gaze locked on Peter.  
The Terran appeared unharmed, there was no obvious trace of injury, but he seemed nervous.

"So what do you want?" Gamora asked, a little more steel to her voice now  
.  
"What I always wanted," Nebula said. "You dead."

Gamora scoffed. "You tried that once already, remember?"

"I remember." Nebula didn't seem too happy with the reminder. "Which is why I'm going to have someone else do it for me this time." She shifted her gaze over on Saal. "If you want the Ravager to live, my sister dies."

Starting violently, Saal stared from one sister to the other before settling on Nebula. "Are you insane?"

"After what Thanos did to me, I wouldn't be surprised," Nebula replied drily. "But that is beside the point. All that matters, Nova soldier, is that I am giving you a choice. Either you kill my sister right now or you watch the Terran here die."

Saal saw Peter twitch slightly, shaking his head despite keeping his gaze on the water, and the Centurion let out a nervous laugh. "Surely you can't be serious, miss?"

Nebula turned and nodded to the thugs.  
The thugs grabbed Peter's shoulders and shoved him forward, revealing his tied hands, and dunked his head under water.

"No!" Both Gamora and Saal yelled as they watched Peter thrash.

The water danced from his struggles, spilling over the edge, and soon his movements took on a frantic energy.  
A little while later, the thugs yanked him up again.

Coughing and hacking during his struggle for air, Peter still managed to choke out a few words. "Don't. Don't listen... to her..."

Nebula turned her face towards them again. "What's it going to be, Nova soldier?"

Saal shifted his gaze constantly from her to Peter and back again. "I... can't... Please..."

A second nod to the thugs and under water again Peter went. This time for a longer period of time.

Despair was howling like crazy inside Saal and he could only exchange agonized and helpless looks with Gamora.

When Peter was allowed up for air again, he was gulping desperately for air and his lips had turned a light shade of blue.  
"No," the Terran choked out. "Saal, no."

"If you make me give the order one more time, he won't come back up," Nebula warned.

Saal wasn't aware of it happening, but he noticed how the electricity in the ship began to flicker and suddenly Gamora was inching away from him.

Nebula smiled.

Not looking, keeping his glowing eyes locked on the screen, Saal pulled out one of the primitive guns Rocket had persuaded him to carry and he pulled the trigger.  
Peter screamed as the blood flew from Gamora's head and she fell backwards from the force of the bullet.

"So this is the Nova Omega I heard so much about," Nebula declared with no little fascination.

Saal slowly lowered his hand and glared at her, ignoring the increasing glow surrounding himself and the growing disturbance in the electricity on the ship. "I did what you said," he growled in an unnatural voice. "So now you let Peter go." He tilted his head slightly. "You let him go and then you run." The glow grew even stronger, causing him almost to disappear in the light. "Run, because when I find you, I will kill you."

Nebula's smile wavered for a second then she gathered herself and snapped a; "I will be in touch!" before turning off the communication.

-

Saal stared at the blank screen for a few moments.  
The Nova Force whipped and danced around him, his eyes glowing like nuclear cores, and it took no small amount of will-power to regain control.

Yondu, who had been gawping since the glow had appeared, could only watch as the soldier turned normal again and ran over to crouch down next to the fallen woman.

"Hey, are you okay?" Saal asked in a gentle voice, helping Gamora sit up. "Talk to me."

"Ow," she grumbled, allowing him to support her and lifted a hand to her bleeding temple.

Saal carefully brushed away some of her hair and sighed a little with relief. "It's not too bad."

Gamora nodded, closing her eyes briefly against the headache. "Nice shot."  
The bullet had grazed her temple, causing some blood, but no lasting damage.

Saal sent her an apologetic look. "I didn't know what else to do..."

"You probably saved both our asses, me and Peter's," Gamora mumbled, signaling for him to help her get up. 

Saal made sure she was steady on her feet before letting her go. "Only because you played your part."

That got a faint smile from her. "I figured if you wanted me dead, you wouldn't have missed at that distance."

Glancing back at the screen, Saal swallowed hard. "We have to hurry though. We need to get to Peter before she decides to have me murder someone else."

"And how do you plan to do that?" Gamora asked. "We have no idea where he is."

"Actually," Saal said, "I think I might have an idea of where they're keeping him." He held out his right hand and used his left hand to tug up the sleeve on his jacket, revealing a black leather band around his wrist.  
"Peter gave me this. It's a locator. Now, it has a limited range and we need to come within a certain distance to get a lock on him, but those brutes of hers... I recognize their kind. They're from a planet about two days from here. It would fit with the time frame of Peter's abduction."

Nodding, Gamora held a hand to her bleeding temple. "Sounds like a good place to start." She sighed. "We need to get a message to Rocket and Drax. We can't go up against her alone."

"What if they don't make it here in time?" Saal asked.

Gamora merely shook her head.

Trying to tip-toe his way out of the room, Yondu froze and cursed softly as Saal called out his name. Turning to face him, the Ravager lifted his hands in a deflecting gesture. "No, no, no. This here ain't my problem."

Saal stalked over to him. "She will kill him."

Yondu shrugged. "He got himself captured. His problem."

Gamora looked at him, making no effort to hide her contempt. "You have no honor."

"No, but I'm fetching to get a lot of units for this disc here, which is a hell of a lot handier to have than your 'honor'," Yondu drawled with a slight smile.

"I'll pay you," Saal shot in, desperately.

"How?" Yondu scoffed. "You ain't got no units, boy. And even if you did, you couldn't afford my price."

"I'll owe you a favor," Saal blurted out.

Gamora shook her head. "Saal, don't. You don't want to be at the mercy of a cretin like this!"

Saal ignored her, meeting Yondu's curious gaze dead on.

"You'll owe me a favor?" The Ravager said, clearly intrigued at the idea. "Even if it's illegal, lawman?"

"Help us and I will help you," Saal said quietly. "Even if it's illegal."

Yondu grinned and slapped his shoulder. "You got yourself a deal, son!"


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> His head was spinning, both from lack of oxygen and what had just happened.  
> Peter tried to calm his breathing and regain his ability to think, but the image of Saal turning into Nova Omega and shooting Gamora was burned into his retinas.
> 
> It was all Peter's fault. He was to blame for this and both Saal and Gamora had paid the price.

His head was spinning, both from lack of oxygen and what had just happened.  
Peter tried to calm his breathing and regain his ability to think, but the image of Saal turning into Nova Omega and shooting Gamora was burned into his retinas.

It was all Peter's fault. He was to blame for this and both Saal and Gamora had paid the price.

He had discovered that Nebula was chasing him mere hours before he had to leave to meet up with Garthan again. Peter thought he could protect him by leading her in the opposite direction of where the Centurion would be. When even Yondu agreed to help, Peter had been pretty sure he would be able to solve the problem without any bloodshed, throwing Nebula off his trail far away from his friends.

She had been far more clever than he'd anticipated and he had not considered for one moment that he was only a part of her plan, not her target.

Gamora had been her end-game all along, Peter her leverage and Saal her weapon.

Peter shut his eyes hard in an effort to block out the ghost sound of a gunshot and the sight of blood as Gamora had fallen.  
The Nova Force's glow surrounding Saal turned him back into that foreign creature Peter had seen briefly at Xandar. This stranger with emotionless eyes...

No, not emotionless.

There had been fury in Saal's voice when he told Nebula to run.

Peter slowly opened his eyes.

Nova Omega wouldn't have threatened to go after one person. It was set on dominating the galaxy, it didn't care about petty revenge.

Hope began to flutter inside the Ravagers chest.  
Garthan had been in control. He had to have been! And that meant...

Gamora was alive.

He'd heard the shot, saw the blood and how she fell, yet Peter suddenly knew she was alive.

A shadow fell over him and the Ravager lifted his head to gaze up at Nebula. "You just fucked up," Peter stated hoarsely.

Nebula gave him a thin smile. "Mourning my dear sister, Quill? You'll get over it."

Returning the razor sharp smile, Peter shook his head a little. "He's going to kill you, you know."

A flicker of irritation passed over Nebula's face. "I doubt that." She tilted her head. "I still have you."

"So?" Peter almost laughed. "That's not gonna make a difference once he finds you."

Nebula crouched down to level with him. "You really don't get it, do you?" She reached out and gently brushed a lock of his hair back. "You're the glue."

"What?"

"All of them. They only have one thing in common, only one thing that keeps them together, and that's you." Nebula shrugged. "As long as I have you, I have them."

Peter shook his head. "You're wrong. They're really not that fond of me."

"The Nova Omega is," Nebula said. "And I think your other friends will want to keep you alive too. We'll see."

Anger flared inside Peter's chest. "What Saal is, babe, is pissed off. He won't stop until he finds you and kills you! And I can tell you that 'my other friends' are extremely good at tracking down their prey. So, I suggest you do what he said. Drop me off some place, a hotel would be nice, and run."

Straightening, Nebula didn't bother to hide her low opinion of his advice. "Bring him back to the cell."

The thugs yanked Peter up on his feet and started dragging him out of the room.  
"Nebula!" Peter called out. "I'm not kidding. You can't win this!"

She neither replied or even glanced his way, which didn't exactly surprise Peter, but at least he could watch her die with a clean conscience now.

After all, he did warn her!

The thugs dragged him onwards to the gloomy room where he'd been kept since they ambushed him. They lingered for a bit to deliver some hard punches and occasional kicks before leaving the Ravager to his pain once the door closed behind them.

Peter was curled up on his side, forcing down gulps of air despite his burning ribs, and tried to will his eyes to function in the dark so he could actually see the wristband he knew would lead Saal and the others to him.

-

"How did you do it?" Gamora asked.

Saal didn't take his eyes off the screen showing the scans based on the locator chip from his wristband. "How did I do what?"

The two were sitting in the cockpit, Gamora in the pilot seat and Saal in the co-pilot seat.

"I saw you go Omega," Gamora said. "How did you keep from losing it like you did back on Xandar? Can you control it now?"

"I didn't," Saal stated absently. He stared a few seconds longer at the screen, which kept showing nothing, before he snapped out of it and glanced over at her. "I mean, I didn't go Omega. I figured she had to have heard about the incident on Xandar for her to be pushing me so hard to kill you. I summoned the Nova Force to the surface of my skin, made a light-show, and hoped she bought it."

"You bluffed," Gamora was somewhere between amused and in disbelief.

Saal gave a slightly apologetic shrug. "I didn't know what else to do."

Raising an eyebrow, Gamora shrugged as well. "Well... it worked."

"Yeah..." The Centurion managed a faint smile.

A moment later, Gamora sent a meaningful look towards the common room. "You trust him?"

There was no need to ask whom she meant.

"I trust his greed," Saal replied. Though, a part of him guessed that Yondu wouldn't have been so easily persuaded to help if he didn't have a soft spot for Peter.

The hunt for Nebula continued in silence for a long while after that until finally, finally, there was a lock on Peter's location: a war-ship hovering near the planet Saal had mentioned.  
Saal tensed up and looked over at Gamora.

"Better get ready," the assassin mumbled, not taking her eyes off the screen.

Getting up, Saal hesitated by her side. "Are you sure this plan of yours will work?"

Gamora gave a thin smile to her own reflection on the screen. "I know how she thinks."

Both reassured and unsettled by her words, Saal sighed. "I'll tell Udonta to get ready..."

It was hard to keep focus on what he needed to do when he knew that Peter was nearby and in trouble, but for them to get their captain back unharmed; things had to go smooth.

He pulled on the black uniform, drew a deep breath before pulling on the space helmet, and then Saal climbed out of the Milano.

It probably said something about how twisted his mind had become when Saal found that traveling through space outside a ship less frightening than the thought of being too late...

Once they were close enough to Nebula's ship, the Centurion didn't even hesitate to jump.

Gamora had been right about the lack of security at the hatch of the war-ship and Saal hoped Yondu would be able to keep Nebula occupied on the communication system.

He managed to get inside, get into a fight with two thugs in the hallway, before the ship shook violently from the first shot fired from the Milano.  
Okay, that was a fairly obvious sign that stalling hadn't worked too well. Time to hurry along.

Saal didn't know much about these thugs Nebula had recruited, other than what he'd read in a couple of arrest reports in the past about their violent tendencies, but he was quickly learning that they were not only violent but very good at it too.  
If he hadn't been training with Drax, Saal would have had no other choice but to turn to the Nova Force and risk really going Omega. These guys were strong, fast and did not stay down once they were knocked down!

By the time he reached the hallway leading to the prisoner cell, the Centurion had a bloody nose, several bruised ribs and aching knuckles.

And the second he opened the door to the cell, every ache was forgotten.

-

Peter opened his eyes when the ship shook violently.

That sounded and felt an awful lot like they got hit by something.   
It had to be Garthan and Gamora.

He closed his eyes again in relief, exhaling and allowing his muscles to ease down a little.

When the door finally opened, it was to reveal a familiar contour.   
Starlord would have recognized him anywhere.

"About damn time," Peter slurred with a slight grin. "What took you so long?"

Saal leaned against the door frame. "Next time you get kidnapped, how about you leave a hint about where I can find you so we can all save some time?"

The ship shook again and the Centurion stepped inside and headed towards Peter, who sat up with a tired groan. "So, Garthan, that sounds serious. Are we making a run for it?"

Shaking his head, Saal sank down to sit next to him and lean against the wall. "Not yet. We're staying put. My mission was to find you and keep you safe."

Peter straightened a little and frowned at him. "What?"

Saal reached out and took a hold of his chin, examining his face for bruises and appeared satisfied at finding none. "Gamora is going after Nebula. We're staying here."

Even more confused, Peter shook his head a little. "But... she might need help."

"She's not alone," Saal reassured. "She can handle this."

Starlord was still more than a little confused, but he slowly gave in as Saal pulled him closer. "This is why I can't leave you guys alone for five minutes. You come up with sorts of crazy plans..." He probably should have demanded that they run off to save the day, but Peter found that he did trust their judgment and allowed himself to savor the solid form of Garthan Saal and not Nova Omega.

The Centurion slid an arm around him and sighed satisfied when Peter burrowed even closer. "Well, you will just have to remember that the next time you get the urge to get yourself abducted."

Peter let out a quiet laugh against Saal's chest. "Sure, I'll remember that."

"Are you okay?" Saal asked quietly, leaning down to brush his lips by Peter's temple.

Nodding, Peter hugged him even closer."Yeah. I knew you'd get me out of here."

They sat like that, through the occasional explosion and shudders going through the ship, for a long while, until they heard a fight nearby followed by footsteps heading their way.

Peter tensed up, not releasing Saal, but getting ready to leap into action once the enemy revealed itself.  
He was once again surprised when Drax stepped into the doorway. "Drax?"

Looking from Peter to Saal and back to Peter again, the big guy gave a single nod. "Peter Quill. It is safe to move now."

"Nebula?" Saal asked, keeping his arm locked around Peter and preventing him from moving.

"Under control," was the clipped reply.

It seemed to be answer enough to satisfy Saal, who glanced down at Starlord and raised his eyebrows. "You up for walking? Want me to carry you?"

Peter shook his head. "I'm good. Just... I might lean on you a bit, okay?"

Saal got up and held out a hand to him. "For support or for groping?"

"Both," Peter said, taking the hand and pulling himself up to slump against him.

Drax grunted and stomped off without another word while the duo followed at their own pace, tossing half-interested glances at the fallen guards littered around the halls.  
At the cargo room, their allies were already waiting for them.

Gamora had Nebula tied up and kept a sharp eye, as well as a gun, on her. Drax was hovering by the space hatch and talking to Rocket on a communication device.

Peter shared a brief glance and an even briefer smile with Gamora before focusing on Drax again. "I'm impressed, Saal. The gang is all here."

Saal shrugged. "Lucky for us, they got here in time." Gamora's plan had worked. 

Peter blamed Nebula's crappy hospitality towards her guests for his slow thought process. It was only once they were back on the Milano and both it and Kevin Bacon were moving away from the abandoned war-ship that he started putting the pieces together.  
"If Rocket and Groot are on Kevin Bacon..." Peter mumbled as they walked towards the common room, "and we're all here... Who is...?"

"Welcome back, kid," Yondu grinned, standing in the doorway to the cockpit.

Peter felt his jaw drop and his eyes widened. 

-

If Saal hadn't been so worried about Peter's clearly pained way of moving, the Centurion would have laughed out loud at the shocked expression on his face.  
"I didn't mention that your kidnapping-surrogate-father was along for the rescue?"

It was hard to say who sent him the dirtiest look, but Saal was satisfied to see both Yondu and Peter uncomfortable. Good. It felt nice not to be the flustered one for once!

"What?" Peter finally sputtered. "Why?"

Yondu regained his smug face. "Ask your boyfriend."

"What?" Peter repeated, then realized what it meant. "Oh gods, no..." He stared at Saal. "What did you promise him?"

And just like that, Saal was back to being the flustered one. "Peter..."

Shaking his head, Peter released him and took a step towards the blue skinned man. "Listen, Yondu, whatever deal he made, I'll pay you, okay?"

"Peter!" Saal objected.

Yondu merely shook his head. "Sorry, kiddo. No can do."

Saal grit his teeth in annoyance and reached out to grab Peter's arm. "Dammit, Peter!"

Tearing his arm free of Saal's grasp, the Terran didn't take his eyes off of Yondu. "He doesn't know you, Yondu. He didn't know what he was getting into."

Yondu grinned and waggled his eyebrows. "He seemed pretty enlightened to me. And a deal is a deal. You know that, Peter."

"HE is standing right here, thank you very much," Saal stated rather loudly and with no little amount of irritation. "I can speak for myself! Either you both get that into your thick heads or I will knock them together until you do!"

Both Peter and Yondu was staring at him by now.

Finally Peter snapped out of his shock and took a step towards him. "Saal, you don't know..."

"I know that Yondu Udonta and I made a deal and that he fulfilled his end of the bargain," Saal interrupted. "I'm not a bloody child, Peter Quill. A deal is a deal and I fully intend to keep my promise."

Shoulders slumping, Peter gave a little shake of his head. "Don't say I didn't try or that I didn't warn you," he mumbled.

The grin on Yondu's face widened even more. It was slightly disconcerting really.  
Saal rolled his shoulders in an effort to regain his stoic facade and cleared his throat. "Right, well, that will have to wait until we decide on what to do with Nebula and making sure Quill here won't fall over dead from the injuries he claims he doesn't have."

"We'll meet in the common room one hour from now," Gamora stated. "That'll give us time to get things sorted out and put some distance between us and that ship in case those thugs have some backup we don't know about."

Peter shrugged. "Works for me."

Drax grunted and stalked off without another word.

Saal took a hold of the Terran. "One hour then." And promptly guided him off towards their room.  
Once inside, he released the Ravager and waved a hand at him. "Strip."

A lewd grin slid on to Peter's face. "Did you really miss me that much?"

Saal rolled his eyes. "So I can patch you up, you tosser."

"You keep telling yourself that," Peter stated rather smugly, but couldn't help a slightly pained grunt when pulling off his t-shirt to reveal his bruised ribs.

Instantly flooded by worry, Saal moved over and made him sit down on the bed. "I knew it. Why didn't you tell me?"

Peter gave a little smile tainted by affection, allowing Saal to draw gentle fingertips over the red and purple skin. "What's to tell? It's not that bad, I've had a lot worse, and nothing much anyone can do about it." He reached out in turn to lightly tap the tip of Saal's nose. "And what about yourself? Got a couple of injuries yourself."

Raising an eyebrow, Saal moved his hand to let his palm carefully cover Peter's bruised ribs. "Nothing I can do about it? You sure about that?"

"What...?" Peter began, but froze at the sight of the glow emerging to cover Saal's hand and stared in silence until the Centurion lifted his hand to reveal the bruise gone.

"Some advantages to surpassing Denarian level," Saal said. He glanced a little uncertainly up at Peter, who was still staring, now with a slight frown.  
"And you're not..." Peter began. "I mean, it's not... You won't..." 

"Go insane?" Saal suggested with a faint and fake smile. "No. That would require me tapping into a lot more Nova Force than this."

Peter nodded, exhaling. "Good." Then he suddenly grinned. "That's a handy skill to have in our occupation!"

Saal got up and sent him a dry look. "In 'our' occupation? As in, thieving and such? No thanks, tried that and it I'll leave it to the experts."

-

"Shame," Peter drawled, "I was looking forward to teaching you all sorts of shady things..."

"I have no doubt," Saal replied. "Now, do you have any other injuries you're not telling me about?"

Peter leaned back and raised his eyebrows. "Maybe. Maybe not. You're just going to have to look and find out for yourself."

As always, the dark haired man seemed caught between being amused and annoyed. "Peter..."

Getting up as well, Starlord moved closer to the other man. "Dude, I'm fine." He leaned even closer and wiped away some dried blood from Saal's upper lip. "Worry about yourself now, slugger. You can heal yourself too, yeah?"

Saal nodded. "I'll take care of it." He tugged Peter into a firm hug, sighing against his neck. "Next time you're in danger," he'd given up on the idea of them having a peaceful life, "focus on your escape and not setting up a back-up for me, okay? I can handle myself. I can't handle losing you."

Peter smiled against the soft fabric of Saal's shirt. "Why, when I know I can rely on you to come to my rescue?"

"Because I'd rather be hurt by others than see you in pain," Saal said. 

Knowing Garthan's protective nature probably made it agony to see his partner in distress, Peter burrowed a little closer as if that could apologize for what had happened, even if it hadn't been his idea to be dunked in water until he almost passed out. 

The Centurion held him close for a little while longer, drawing light hands over warm skin as if to make sure he really was there and unharmed, before he then pulled away and nodded towards the shower. "Go get cleaned up."

Peter sent him a longing look. "I miss the shower on Kevin Bacon..."

The shower which could actually fit the both of them, instead of the tiny one on the Milano which was a challenge to turn around in for even just one of them.

Saal fought against an embarrassed smile and lost. "Just... go."

The Ravager reluctantly did as he was told. Truth be told, he wouldn't mind rinsing off the dust from Nebula's ship and getting into some fresh clothes.  
As far as captivity went, he'd experienced both worse and far better, but the feeling of water on his face in the shower felt a little unsettling after his near drowning experience so he didn't linger too long under the spray.

Somewhat refreshed, he emerged to towel himself dry half-heartedly and got dressed while returning to the waiting Saal.

The dark haired man was sitting on the bed, having changed from his dark thieving clothes to his usual Nova Force blue and the Ravager-red leather jacket. "Feeling better?" He asked.

"I need to find some way to expand that room," Peter replied. He wandered over to sit down next to Saal, noticing the blood was gone from his face and he sat a little straighter as if his torso didn't hurt anymore either. "And you?" 

"Straightened dents and still not crazy," the Centurion half-joked.

Peter made a face and jabbed an elbow in his side. "Not funny. So, anyway, how did the heist go? I take it you got the disc, or Yondu wouldn't have been here."

Saal huffed. "I got the disc alright, but that was when things got a little too interesting for my taste."

Curious, Peter raised his eyebrows for him to continue his tale.

"Some lazy excuse for a guard was looking for a place to hide and decided on entering the office just as I was about to climb out the bloody window," Saal said, ignoring Peter's laughter. "Of course the silly sod had to sound the alarm and suddenly I had every guard and their aunt on my trail. Had to make a rather hasty retreat to our rendezvous point."

Peter leaned closer, almost tasting the adrenaline at the mere thought of the chase. "I knew you could handle it!"

"Of course I could handle it," Saal scoffed. "It's not like stealing a disc from a mediocre and shady businessman is the most dangerous mission I've ever been on. However, running across rooftops and being shot at is not something that lingers at the top of my fun list."

Close enough to let his lips brush against Saal's, Peter made a thoughtful sound before speaking again. "But it sure made you feel alive, didn't it?"

-

Saal drew a shivering breath, struggling to remember how to form words. "That is one way of looking at it, I suppose."   
He tilted his head slightly and stole a slow, slow kiss, savoring the heat and the softness before pulling back half an inch. "But so does this."

Peter grinned. "Valid point, officer."

Saal meant to put a stop to it right there, he really did, but then Peter moved over and straddled his lap and lured him into increasingly lewder kisses.

Stronger men than him had buckled in such situations, surely?

Saal's hands automatically went to Peter's thighs, feeling the hard muscles underneath his palms, and he had to dig his fingers lightly into them to pull him even closer.

Peter might have laughed softly at that point, but then his mouth was back on Saal's and the Centurion was too distracted to really care.

Every kiss, every touch, just the feeling of Peter that close, it made want sizzle increasingly hotter under his skin, but Saal forced himself to take it slow.  
He wanted to take his time.  
The image of those thugs holding Peter under water would haunt him for a while and he wanted to re-map every part of the Ravager again as if it was their first time once more.

Luckily it seemed like Peter wasn't in any hurry either, even if his touches grew more insistent and his hips would occasionally roll against Saal in a way that made the dark haired man bite down on the Ravager's shoulder and shiver against him.

Saal drew both his hands through Peter's still wet hair and held him there for a demanding kiss, only easing down a little when he felt the other man easily succumbing, but it only lasted until his hands had moved down the Ravager's back and then Peter fought back by attaching his own lips to Saal's neck.  
That made the Centurion's own hips strain up against the other man.

Driven more by instinct than anything else, Saal wrapped an arm around Peter's waist and yanked, causing Peter to end up on his back on the bed and Saal hovering over him.

The Terran grinned with smug satisfaction, pulling him down fully and reclaimed Saal's lips.

It was so easy to get lost in this, the feeling of it all, the want... Oh gods, it felt... not enough.

Want was turning into fierce need and Peter was doing everything he could to light even more fire under it.

It was years and years of self-discipline that made Saal lift himself on trembling arms and shake his head a little. "Wait..."

"What for?" Peter whined, trying to pull him back down.

"Time," Saal mumbled somewhat hazily. "How much time do we have...? We're supposed to..."

"Who cares?" The Ravager scoffed, dragging himself up by a firm hold on the collar on Saal's leather jacket and stole an open kiss.

Saal made a complaining sound, sinking down an inch towards him before regaining control. "Peter... We said an hour and... and..." 

Groaning theatrically, Peter released him and flopped back on the bed. "Fine. Okay. I forgot I have Mr. Responsible here." He fumbled for a time teller on the night stand, looked at it and collapsed back on the bed with an even more theatric groan.

"What?" Saal asked, trying hard not to stare at Peter's mouth.

The Terran glared at him. "Ten minutes."

Saal almost whined. Almost. "Oh." He nearly regretted the speech he'd once made about no action below waist-line within a twenty minute limit of any appointment they had. 

(But that was due to suffering through three days of Rocket making fun of him after appearing with a flushed face, messy hair and rumpled clothes, a consequence of Peter deciding to introduce him to 'a quickie' right before they were to leave the planet they'd made a pit stop on.)

Flipping himself over to land on his back next to Peter, Saal drew a deep breath and exhaled slowly.

Ten minutes to cool down then...

-

By the time they got to the common room, Peter noticed that Rocket and Groot had joined them as well, but Drax was nowhere to be seen.

"He's keeping an eye on Nebula," Gamora explained as she sat down by the table.

"Are you sure that's, uh, smart?" Peter asked, remembering too well how much Drax wanted to kill Gamora.

Gamora shrugged. "At this point, I might be more tempted to kill her than him."

Rocket threw his paws up in the air. "And the problem being? I'm still scratching my head as to why she is still alive?"

Saal sent him a sour look. "Because we're not murderers!"

"Details, details," Rocket mumbled annoyed, pulling out a grenade to fidget with it.

Peter raised his hands to quiet things down. "Okay, okay, points made." He cleared his throat and focused on Gamora. "Seriously though, what the hell is she doing here?"

Gamora hesitated, then finally glanced up at him with an unusually soft touch to her eyes. "I just couldn't... I mean, I know what she's done... But we're not so different, she and I."

Saal shook his head. "I apologize, Gamora, but I disagree. You two are very different. You both were put through horrible things by Thanos, but you chose different ways. You kept your honor. You protected the weak. Nebula..."

Sighing, Gamora glanced down at the table again. "I know..."

"Well?" Rocket asked, rather loud in the hushed atmosphere.

Peter sent him a nasty look. "Well what?"

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Rocket snapped. "Have Drax throw her out the air lock. Problem solved."

"We're not doing that!" Peter yelled back, then paused and looked at Gamora. "Are we?"

Starting, Gamora glared up at him before she and Saal both exclaimed; "No!"

Peter shrugged, trying for nonchalance and failing. "Yeah, right, no, that's what I said." He scratched his neck. "So... what do we do with her? We can't really have her bundled up in the cargo room for all foreseeable future..."

There was a long silence until Saal sighed and broke it.  
"We could ask Xandar for help," the Centurion said quietly. 

Peter felt the hair at the back of his neck stand up at the mere thought of Saal going anywhere near that planet. "Oh, no, no, no."

Saal raised a hand to quiet him. "Hear me out. All I'm saying is that we ask for help. The Nova Corps have several high security facilities where they can handle high risk prisoners. Just a call."

"You mean like your precious Kyln which couldn't hold us for more than a night?" Rocket drawled with a smug grin.

Saal glared. "Nebula won't have a modified tree and two accomplices to aid her."

Peter still didn't look comfortable with the idea. "Last time we had any dealings with Xandar, man... It didn't turn out too well for a while there."

"I know," Saal said softly. "I'm not saying I'm going to Xandar, but I can send them a message." 

"Damn right he ain't going nowhere near Xandar," a voice suddenly declared.

Peter started slightly and looked over to see Yondu standing in the doorway to the cockpit.

The leader of the Ravager whistled out loud with approval at the sight of Saal. "I love the jacket, lawman."

Fighting against the urge to step between Saal and Yondu, Peter crossed his arms defensively. "What are you talking about, Yondu?"

Yondu took a step into the room, grinning like a shark. "Me and Pretty In Red here got ourselves a deal, remember? He ain't going to no Xandar coz he'll be taking a little trip to a completely different planet."

Saal sat up a little straighter with a slightly worried look on his face and Peter glanced at him with a resigned sigh. "I did warn you..."


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was close to impossible to say whether it was Yondu or Peter who was wearing the most evil grin.
> 
> "Oh you got to be kidding me..." Saal exhaled.

Trying hard not to let Peter unsettle him, Saal straightened a little in his seat. "So what's your price, Udonta?"

"Seeing how you have already proven that you can steal shit and get away with it," Yondu stated with the tiniest touch of approval, which made Saal cringe, "I want you ta steal something for me."

The Centurion fought down his instinctual response to decline, reminding himself that he'd made the deal and had to pay the price. "What, exactly, am I to... acquire?"

Yondu shifted his weight and his grin grew wider. "A stone. A gemstone. It's worth a hell of a lot of units and I got someone on the line willing to pay two million for it."

Blinking, Saal felt a little overwhelmed at the idea of stealing something of such value. "But... why me? I mean, I have little doubt that your thieving skills outmatch mine quite easily, Udonta, and so does most of your fine crew."

That got him a chuckle and the leader of the Ravagers seemed to fully agree on that point. "Location."

Saal frowned confused. "What?"

"Location," Yondu repeated. "The stone is kept on a planet where only the fine and dandy are allowed to visit. I fear our manners ain't up standard, for some odd reason. "

Having seen Peter's manners and knowing he was actually the better of the Ravagers, Saal had no doubt about that.

"Also, security is too tight to crash," Yondu added with a little resentment.

"Who is the target?" Peter asked.

"He's called Kvist," Yondu said. "He runs the Lotus clubs."

Saal recognized the club name and scrambled through his mental catalogues to remember where he'd encountered it. The second he recalled, the Centurion's eyes widened.  
It was close to impossible to say whether it was Yondu or Peter who was wearing the most evil grin.

"Oh you got to be kidding me..." Saal exhaled.

While he had never entered the Lotus clubs personally, as he had both dignity and taste, Saal had heard plenty about them. It was where the upper class went to experience all sorts of... delights, whichever appealed to your particular taste.  
If you had money and class, there was nothing you couldn't get at the Lotus club.

Rocket cackled. "I'm loving this!"

Groot frowned, as much as a tree could frown. "Groot?"

"You're too young to know," the raccoon answered.

"I can't, I mean, my name would only cause suspicion and make them to raise their defenses even more," Saal stuttered. "The Saal family has been in law enforcement since the dawn of the galaxy. They'd never believe I'd be there for the, er, activities."

"Not to worry," Yondu drawled with something similar to glee, "we got a cover name and an invite for you to use."

Saal swallowed hard. "Oh."

He glanced over at Peter in quiet desperation, knowing he had to keep his word yet surely there had to be some other way, but he only found the Terran looking at him with a smile of pure evil.

"Don't worry," Peter said merrily and clapped a hand on Saal's shoulder as the Centurion slumped forward to hide his eyes behind a hand, "I'll come with you."

Starting, Saal stared up at him. "What?"

Peter shrugged, still with that evil grin. "Yeah, it's not that uncommon for rich guys to bring their..." he cleared his throat innocently, "favorite."

Saal slumped and hid his face again, a flush creeping up his neck. "Can we go back to discussing what we are to do about the Nebula situation?"

Having used the distraction to silently muse over the options before her, Gamora leaned back in her seat and sighed. "Contact Xandar. If they are willing to take her, I'll hand her over."

"Fair enough," the Centurion said, trying to will away the thought of what he would be forced to do afterwards. 

-

Predictably enough, Xandar agreed to grant Nebula an unlimited stay at one of their prison colonies where even Rocket was reluctant to tread and Gamora seemed both saddened and relieved by it.  
Sad that no matter what she said, Nebula would rather die than change her ways, but relieved that death wasn't the only alternative.

They agreed on Gamora and the others taking Kevin Bacon to head for Xandar with their prisoner, while Saal and Peter remained on the Milano with Yondu.

Joining Gamora, Rocket, Groot and Drax towing along a tied up Nebula when they headed for the hatch attached to Kevin Bacon, Saal noticed that the leader of the Ravagers decided to tag along as well and wondered if he was worried that Saal would jump ship to escape what was being asked of him.

Garthan Saal would be lying if he said he hadn't considered it for half a second, but unfortunately he knew he had to honor the deal he made.

Since he met Peter Quill that dark night in his apartment, Saal had changed so much. He needed to keep some parts of his old self or he wouldn't recognize himself at all anymore, and the value of his word was one such part.

He might be willing to see that things weren't always black or white, but he wasn't ready to let go of the idea of being a good man and not just a common criminal.

Rocket, Groot and Drax escorted Nebula off the Milano, but Gamora hesitated by the doorway and turned to face Saal, who was standing next to her.  
"Listen," she spoke in a quiet and deadly serious voice, "you be careful. Don't turn your back on him."

Her eyes flickered briefly towards Yondu, hovering a couple of steps away, and the assassin raised her eyebrows. "Okay?"

Saal tried to smile and gave a little nod. "You as well. She is dangerous, but you know that, right?"

Gamora nodded as well. "I know." She reached up to cup his face and pulled him down to the lightest of kisses. "Just be careful."

Saal straightened and watched as she left the ship and closed the door behind her.  
He waited until he heard Kevin Bacon detach, then he turned to head back up to the cockpit, but froze at the sight of Yondu with his arms crossed and a frown on his face. 

"You doing her too?" The leader of the Ravager asked suspiciously.

Saal started. "What? No!"

Yondu's eyes narrowed. "Does he know?"

"Know what?" The Centurion heard his voice taking on a high pitch. "That wasn't... It's not... not that kind of kiss. We're not... She just..."

Clearly not convinced, Yondu made a thoughtful hum before turning on his heel and walking out.

It took two seconds before Saal managed to gather himself enough to head back up to Peter.  
He sank down in the co-pilot seat, glancing over at the Terran. "I do believe that man takes delight in tormenting me."

Peter smirked. "That's because you're so cute when you blush."

Saal snorted. "I have been accused of many things in my life, but cute? Never, not even before the fire."

Glancing over at him with a wide grin, Peter seemed to be brimming with excitement. "Ready for a visit to the original Lotus club then?"

Deflating and sinking deeper into the chair, Saal groaned. "Surely there has to be some other way for me to pay him back?"

Peter shrugged, plotting in a course on the ship's computer. "I'm actually surprised he gave you such a vanilla mission."

"Vanilla? What do you mean?" Saal suspected sometimes that Peter was making up words just to confuse him!

The Terran leaned back in his seat as well, flung one leg over the armrest so he could turn slightly and look at him. "Vanilla, it means... ordinary. Uncomplicated."

"Ordinary? Uncomplicated?" Saal couldn't believe what he was hearing. "The man intends to send me into a sordid pleasure house to steal a gemstone worth millions, and you think it is... vanilla?"

The smile on Peter's face was nothing but soft affection. "Oh, Garthan... Still so innocent."

Saal wanted to object, knowing how much he'd learned since that first night, but there was something in that gaze which told him he'd only scratched the surface of what some did behind closed doors. He loathed how that made his face burn and Peter's smile widened.

"See? So cute!"

-

Leaving Saal to sulk, Peter pretended to focus on the ship for a little while.

It was true that he was relieved that Yondu had given Saal this mission, but he wasn't ready to reveal to Garthan just 'how' relieved he was.

Asking him to enter a party club and steal a gemstone was nothing compared to what the leader of the Ravagers could have demanded of him.   
Saal could have risked having to work at one of those clubs or be ordered to kill someone. Peter even remembered Yondu having someone repay him in their own internal organs to sell at the blackmarked. No, the Centurion had gotten off easy.

Hell, Starlord could even picture this mission turning out to be quite the fun adventure.

Just the thought of Saal at a Lotus club was hilarious.  
And this time Peter would be able to be there during the mission and protect the dark haired man!

They travelled in silence for a long while until Yondu appeared and said he'd take over. He was the one who knew their destination after all and the two of them probably should rest up before the big mission.

A little surprised at Yondu's consideration, Peter wondered whether the man actually cared about their well-being or if he was just worried about them messing up the mission.  
He eventually decided on the latter being the most probable reason.

Saal was still grumpy as they returned to their room, Yondu had given them an eight hour window before they'd reach their target, and Starlord couldn't help grinning at the sight.

Seeing Peter's amusement, the Centurion sat down on the bed with an annoyed grunt. "You think this is hilarious, don't you?"

It took no small amount of willpower for Peter to keep from laughing and he sat down next to him instead, drawing light fingertips along Saal's jawline. "Come on, it's gonna be fun!"

"Fun?" Saal echoed with no small amount of disbelief. 

"Yeah, fun," Peter confirmed with a smug grin. He moved over to sink down between Saal's thighs, spreading them to kneel comfortably in front of him. "You remember fun, don't you?"

Looking down at him with surprise, Saal swallowed hard when Starlord slid his hands up his thighs towards the button on the Centurion's pants. "Fun... Right..."

"We actually get to work together on this one," Peter said, keeping eye contact and letting his hands take their time in opening the pants and freeing his prize. "Won't that be fun?"

Saal tried to speak, but every time he'd nearly gathered his wits and found his voice, Peter would add an extra caress or even bend down to place his lips gently against the growing hardness and the dark haired man would end up with nothing but a shivering exhale.

Peter noticed how Saal's fingers would claw at the sheets instead of tangling in his hair, how the soldier's thighs would tremble with restraint, and couldn't quite decide on whether he wanted to savor the consideration or see how far he had to push him before Saal broke.

In the end, his own greed made the choice for him and hot lust punched him hard in the gut at the sound Saal made when Peter wrapped his lips around him.

Absolutely nothing beat listening to Garthan trying to be calm and collected and failing.

Starlord rumbled a satisfied sound himself before moving one of the soldier's leg up over his shoulder, taking away part of his leverage if he did decide to push up, and started to work on him for real.

Saal's shaky breaths soon turned into panting, his body tensing up and shuddering in a silent plea, but he still managed to keep his touch gentle when his hand finally slid through Peter's hair.  
It was rather impressive really, considering how wound up Garthan was by now.

A quick glance up revealed that Saal's eyes had drifted shut. His skin was flushed and his lips were parted to give freedom to gasps and groans.  
An image that Peter decided to store in his mind for any lone nights ahead.

Saal, the pure and righteous, everything Peter had been raised to loathe, was responding so beautifully to Starlord's every move that the Terran himself was hard to the point of agony by now.

Knowing and watching how Garthan wanted and welcomed his touch, a lowly criminal, was the biggest turn on Peter had ever known. Such unconditional trust...

Starlord took a firm hold of Saal's hips and did a couple of tricks that made the muscular thigh over Peter's shoulder tense up to the point where his leg moved up the Ravager's back a bit. Seconds later the soldier fell apart with a choked whine.

Peter worked him through it, stealing everything he could give, before letting Saal's leg slide off his shoulder so he could kneel a little straighter and undo his own pants.

His hard-on was killing him now, but Starlord barely got his hand on it before Saal was tugging him up and replacing his grip with his own.

Groaning with relief and gratitude, Peter hid his face to the side of the Centurion's neck, tasting the sweat on his skin under his tongue, then the stroking began and Starlord blindly bit down on the skin instead.

It was a bit embarrassing how fast it was over, but to be fair, Peter had been turned on from the second his knees hit the floor and there was only so much restraint a man could have.

Once his relief had rushed through him thanks to that firm and yet strangely gentle grip, Peter slumped carelessly against Saal, who automatically wrapped his arms protectively around him, and the two tried to catch their breath as well as their senses.

-

A shower and several hours of sleep later, they were abruptly woken up by Yondu barging into their room. 

"A'right," the leader of the Ravagers declared, clapping his hands together, "rise and shine, y'all! Kraglin is hooking up to this hunk o' junk as we speak and we gotta start prepping pretty boy here for the grand mission!"

Saal bolted up in a sitting position, sending Peter tumbling to the mattress, and tried to keep himself from having a heart attack. 

Grinning, Yondu flung out his arms. "What are ya waiting for?"

"Five more minutes," Peter mumbled into the sheets.

Saal glared from one Ravager to the other, then exhaled and leaned forward while pulling both hands through his hair. "This is just a bad dream... Got to be a bad dream..."

The leader of the Ravagers laughed. "Come on, handsome. Time to put that blue blood and purdy face to use for once!"

Instantly aware of the scars and certain that the man was mocking him, Saal tensed up and slowly tugged the sheets up higher to his bare chest.  
He glanced over at Peter when he felt his arm snaking its way around the Centurion's waist and the Ravager pulled himself over to place a light kiss on his arm. "Get out, Yondu."

Yondu made a dubious sound, studying Saal for a moment as if he suddenly had doubts whether he could trust the man to carry out the mission after all. "Two minutes, yeah?"

"Yeah," Peter mumbled sleepily, inching up to sit slumped against Saal and moving his hand up to cover the scars on the soldier's neck as well. "Now, out."

There was another dubious hum, but the blue skinned man did inch out of the room.

Saal stared emptily ahead, fighting an uneasy knot in his stomach, when he felt Peter's chin on his shoulder.  
"Hey," the Terran murmured, "you okay?"

Nodding, Saal drew a deep breath and gathered himself. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm good." He cleared his throat and glanced over at the door. 

Peter reached out and gently turned his face back to his, meeting his eyes. "I'm gonna be there, right? I won't let anything happen to you."

Saal couldn't help a faint smile. "I know. It's not that."

Unable to stand the misery in the dark eyes, Peter glanced over at where he let a finger run ever so gently over the scarred skin on Saal's neck. "He doesn't see these. Neither do I." He sighed. "You're the only one who does. You and those Xandarian snobs."

Leaning over, Saal softly kissed his lips. He knew when Peter was telling what he perceived as the truth and this was one of those times. "Are you telling me your dad fancies me?"

"Yondu would bang you in a heartbeat," Peter drawled, stealing a kiss of his own. "And then I would have to kill him."

Saal exhaled a laugh, struggling to believe they were actually having this conversation and knowing Peter was just trying to make him feel better.   
It was working.

"We should get moving," the Centurion stated reluctantly, hoping to avoid a second visit by an impatient Yondu.

"Yeah," an equally reluctant Peter agreed, using the opportunity to let his hand cop a really good feel of Saal's torso.

He indulged the Ravager for a little while, then slapped his hand away and got out of bed, ignoring the complaining whine that followed.

They got dressed in an amiable silence and Saal felt a little more prepared to face Yondu while wearing his blue uniform pants and a white t-shirt instead of boxers and a sheet.

Voices could be heard coming from the common room and Saal was surprised to find that the Ravager named Kraglin had both attached the ship and entered the Milano already.  
He and Yondu both straightened from whatever they had been studying on the table to face Saal and Peter as they arrived.

-

"Peter! Hey!" Kraglin exclaimed happily and grinned from ear to ear.

"Hey, man," Starlord replied to the scruffy man, making a note of how Yondu was warily scanning Saal and did not like the frown on the Ravager's face. "Yondu, what's up?"

"You two ready for this thang?" Yondu asked, eyes locked on Saal.

The Centurion squared his shoulders and met the stare calmly. "I said I would keep my end of our deal, didn't I?"

There was a heavy moment of silence, which had Kraglin shifting uneasily, then Yondu nodded and turned back to the table. "Alright then."

Peter and Kraglin both exhaled with quiet relief.

They all gathered around the table where there were a bunch of papers scattered around.

"Our guy is throwing a party tomorrow," Kraglin began, shoving a piece of paper to the side to reveal the one underneath it. "Five Senses, he calls it." The Ravager grinned and waggled his eyebrows, "five days and 'saluting the five senses', the invite says."

Peter was instantly intrigued. "I'm liking the sound of this!"

The closed off look on Saal's face told him the soldier did not share that sentiment.

Yondu picked up a rather big envelope. "I got your invite here, lawman. It'll get you two inside. After that, you got five days to find me that gemstone, y'hear?"

Saal nodded, lips drawn into a thin line. "Loud and clear."

"We know he got it locked up in his safe," Kraglin said, "but it don't seem to be no one in the 'verse who knows where the damn safe is at!"

Peter shrugged. "We'll find it."

"You better," Yondu said. "Now, we got your background story here, Xandarian. I suggest you read it and memorize it. Kvist will do a check on ya and you better get your facts straight."

Saal frowned and picked up the paper with the information Yondu was referring to. "This name, this person I am supposed to be, is an actual individual?"

Kraglin shrugged. "Had to be, to make it seem real. Family history and all that."

Staring from one Ravager to the other, Saal was almost scared to ask. "Did you kill him?"

Yondu snorted a laugh. "Don't you worry your pretty head over it. He won't be a problem, okay?"

"No," Saal growled, "not okay. I did not agree to anyone dying over this!"

Peter placed a calming hand on the soldier's arm, needing to defuse the situation before it blew up for real. "Hey, no one is dead. Calm down. They probably got him stashed away some place. Killing a high ranking snob would put heat on the Ravagers and Yondu don't want that." He sent the blue skinned man a piercing look. "Am I right?"

Yondu gave a sullen shrug.

Luckily it was all the confirmation Saal needed and the tense muscles eased down under Peter's touch.

"Now this here is what you'll be looking for," Kraglin continued, holding up a photo of a large yellow jewel. 

Peter let out a slow and appreciative whistle. "Nice!"

"And it's going to bring us nice amounts of units too," Yondu stated. "So be sure not to mess this one up."

Starlord huffed and rolled his eyes. "Hey, have I ever let you guys down?"

"Yes," Yondu and Kraglin both deadpanned in reply.

Peter made a face at them in return.

-

A good while later, after they'd gone over the schematics of the planet and the general layout for the Lotus clubs, as well as going through Saal's new background story, Kraglin pulled out the bottles of liquor that Yondu had demanded he'd bring along.

It didn't take long after that before Peter and the scruffy Ravager were hollering bawdy drinking songs under their leader's indulgent and sober supervision, while Saal kept to a silent corner to keep reading up on the information the Ravagers had gathered about his mission.

He was determined to not get anything wrong!  
Even the smallest detail could be crucial to keeping his cover intact.

It was hard to concentrate with the two men not only singing, but singing badly, but Saal managed up until the point where Peter slumped down on his lap.

Grumbling good-humoredly, Saal placed a supportive hand at Peter's lower back to keep him from toppling backwards and falling to the floor. "Peter, please, I need to focus..."

"Pssh," Peter scoffed, yanking away the sheet of paper in Saal's other hand and tossing it away. "Live a little, big boy. Some of my best performances came from improvisations!"

Saal snorted a laugh. "I have no doubt." He glanced over at Kraglin and Yondu, currently engaged in a rather harmonious duet which Peter had butchered earlier. "Tell me something, what is that man's position among the Ravagers really?"

He had no trouble seeing Yondu as the cold killer who did whatever it took to get his prize, but Kraglin... The man lacked the deadly aura all together.

Peter slid his arms around Saal's neck and leaned against him to study the other two men as well. "Kraglin is okay, man. He's... loyal. Something you don't find a lot of among the Ravagers. He ain't scared to take on a fight and he'll have your back. He used to smuggle me food when I was a kid."

The Centurion made a thoughtful sound, warming ever so slightly to the scruffy fellow. "I guess he would have to have his uses for Udonta to keep him around."

Peter leaned down to nuzzle Saal's neck. "Now, how about you abandon your homework for a while and come play with us?"

Grinning, the dark haired man patted lightly at Peter's hip. "I need to study. You go play."

There was a complaining whine, but eventually the youngest Ravager slid off his lap and returned to the other two and joined in on their singing.

Studying them for a little while, Saal had to force himself to return to his reading.

There would be plenty of time to play later.

Right now he had to focus on preparing for a role he had no idea how he was supposed to appear convincing in.

If he messed this up, both he and Peter could risk all sorts of danger at the hands of Kvist.  
And even if they were to manage to escape Kvist, Udonta would be waiting and seriously pissed off.

No, there was no room for failure.

Saal picked up the sheet and started reading again.  
-


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The last thing Peter remembered before passing out was the sight of Saal reading the paperwork and it was the first thing he saw when he opened his bleary eyes and peeked out from under the sheets the next morning.

The last thing Peter remembered before passing out was the sight of Saal reading the paperwork and it was the first thing he saw when he opened his bleary eyes and peeked out from under the sheets the next morning.

The Centurion was seated by the small table next to the wall opposite of the bed and his eyes were firmly focused on what he was reading.

Grunting, Peter began to crawl his way out from under the sheets. "Hey."

"Hey," Saal replied absently.

"Did you sleep at all?" Peter asked, sitting on the edge of the bed and rubbing his eyes.

The only reply was a non-committing hum.

Glancing over, Peter let his hands drop and willed his mind completely awake and hang-over free. "Hey!"

Saal started slightly, snapped out of his zone by the sharp tone and turned his focus over on Peter. "Pardon? What?"

"Dude," Peter exhaled, tired and with a sore brain. "You need to relax. They won't be having a quiz at the door."

Sighing, the dark haired man slumped back in his chair. "I just... I need to know I have my facts straight."

"You'll be fine!" A wave of nausea rolled through Peter. "Me, on the other hand..."

Saal laughed, a low and soft sound. "Told you to take it easy on the drink, you tosser."

"You did? I can't remember."

"No? I'm not surprised." Saal moved over and climbed into bed to sit behind him. "You and the lanky Ravager were both sloshed by the time you fell over."

Peter moaned with relief when long fingers gently dug into his neck and shoulders and massaged the tense muscles there. A lovely scent revealed that the Nova Corps soldier had already been in the shower.   
"Why didn't you stop me?" Starlord mumbled, feeling the tension leaving his body already.

"Because I am not your nanny," was the murmured reply.

Grinning, Peter let his eyes drift shut again and swayed gently to the movement of Saal's hands. "What I wouldn't give to be up to exploit this situation to the fullest..."

The Centurion let his hand slide up Peter's neck and through his messy hair before moving down to continue the massage. "Your loss." 

"Agreed." 

Peter was almost back asleep when the massage eventually came to an end and he made a complaining whine.

"I need to finish up on my reading," Saal stated, inching away and getting out of bed. "And you need to crawl into the shower and try to make yourself presentable."

Falling backwards on the bed, Starlord huffed with annoyance. "More reading? Come on, Garthan, it's not that big of a deal!" He glanced over as the Centurion sat down by the table again. "Did you do this much studying before every mission you took your Nova Corps kids out on?"

Saal met his eyes without hesitation. "Yes. Of course." He gave a little shake of the head in disbelief. "I would never ask any man to go on a mission I didn't know every angle of and wouldn't take on myself."

"Of course." It was a stupid question, really. "But, dude, seriously, I keep telling you; it is NOT that big of a deal."

"Yes, it is," Saal countered in a steely voice. "This mission depends on me knowing this stuff by heart. I have a debt to pay to Yondu Udonta, remember? And most importantly, with you there, I have a responsibility to keep you safe."

It was nothing less than a miracle that the guy didn't fold under his eager accumulation of guilt and responsibility, Peter marveled. Fair enough that Starlord could probably benefit from taking things a little more seriously in life, but Saal was overdoing it by a galaxy and a half!

"Okay, I'm hitting the shower," Peter said, "but after that, we're heading for breakfast and those papers stay here!"

-

Reluctant to leave the files behind, Saal still realized the need to take a break and get some food and followed Peter out of the room after his shower and getting dressed.

He was still mulling over names and dates of importance when he stepped into the kitchen area and came to an abrupt halt, his jaw dropping.

It looked like a bomb had gone off in there.

Yondu was seated by the table, legs with heavy combat boots resting on top of it, while Kraglin was frying up something nasty smelling amidst leftovers and discarded things from all over the ship.

Peter merely walked by and headed over to them with a sleepy greeting, which was returned in similar manner, while Saal was still trying to accept what he was seeing.

"Hey, officer, want some breakfast?" Kraglin lifted the frying pan with a big friendly smile.

The notion of eating anything in that mess made the hair stand up at the back of Saal's neck and only years of good breeding kept him from throwing a fit and to still remember his manners. "No... No, thank you."

Peter reached in and stole something out of the pan, shoving it in his mouth with a triumphant laugh when Kraglin objected and spun away with his foul food. He glanced over at the clearly mortified Saal. "Remember our deal, big boy. You eat."

The Centurion cleared his throat. "Yeah, I... I'll take something back to the room..."

"No, no, no," Peter said, moving over to circle him and push Saal into the room. "You're eating here. No more reading!"

Saal noted that Yondu was watching him with a slight grin. Was it a challenge to see if he could unsettle the lawman with nothing more than a messy kitchen? He wouldn't put it pass the man!  
Gathering his strength, Saal sank down on a chair at the far end of the table and daintily brushed away a minor mountain of crumbs and other things to clear a small spot for him to claim. "Fine."

Yondu's smile grew a bit wider, clearly amused, but he merely gave a tiny nod to himself and turned his focus over on Peter and Kraglin fighting over the control over the cooking plates.

The meal passed without any major incidents, Saal even managed to eat, but all too soon did Yondu get up and order them all to get ready as they were approaching the planet.

Tension struck Saal like an iron rod over the neck, but he forced a neutral look on his face.  
He could do this. 

He had studied, remembered what needed to be remembered and his target was a lewd entrepreneur, not a criminal mastermind!

Yondu and Kraglin departed for their own ship before they entered the planet's atmosphere.

("Five days," Yondu had drawled, glancing from Saal to Peter. "Five days to get me my treasure. Play any tricks this time, Peter, and soldier-boy here pays the price.")

Everything was going as planned, getting clearance and the landing process went without a hitch, until Saal stepped towards the button that would open the hatch and lower the ladder for them to exit the Milano.  
He froze.

Dimly noting Peter stepping up next to him and sending him a quizzical look, Saal realized that this was one mission he couldn't do.

Him pretending to be a rich heir who enjoyed ventures to pleasure houses, no one would believe his act.

"Hey, you okay?" Peter's words slithered through the ice in Saal's brain.

It took a couple of seconds, then the Centurion shook his head and stared wide eyed at the man next to him. "I can't do this! I have no idea HOW to do this!"

Peter studied him for half a heartbeat. He then stuck his chin out a little. "Remember when we got arrested on Xandar?"

"What? What's that got to do with anything?"

"Humor me," Peter said. "Remember how you saw us as trash?"

Huffing with frustration and a bit of shame, Saal squirmed. "I didn't... Not trash, exactly..."

"Trash," Peter confirmed with a slight grin. "My point is, that superior piece of shit you were," he ignored Saal offended look, "that's who you gotta be now. That's who they're expecting."

Forcing down the urge to defend his former self, Saal turned his gaze back to the hatch. 

-

Following Saal off the ship, Peter was buzzing with excitement.

He'd been hearing about the Lotus clubs since the day he was kidnapped, but he'd never been allowed into one.  
At the landing docks, everything appeared to be like any other place, except for a healthy amount of guards by the entrance doors.

A small group was already waiting for them once they disembarked the Milano and Peter was willing to bet his walkman on that the snooty guy in the green suit was their leader.

Making sure to stay one step behind Saal, Peter followed him towards the group and smirked with smug satisfaction when the green guy stepped forward and welcomed them.  
It was easy to see that this man had lived the good life, everything in perfect order from his hair to his finely trimmed fingernails.

"Welcome to the Lotus," the man greeted with a slick smile, holding out his left hand. "I'm honored to make your acquaintance, Sir Elji."

Seconds passed and Saal made no move to take the hand.

Dammit, Peter felt a flicker of nerves, he'd frozen again! 

He was about to bolt into action when the Centurion spoke, his deep voice filled with cold disdain.  
"I was told the Lotus was a place of good breeding and manners," Saal said, "it appears that I was mislead."

Peter blinked and had a lie ready on the tip of his tongue, something about Sir Elji being struck by some brain-eating space virus, when the guy in the green suit laughed and switched to hold out the other hand.  
"I apologize, Sir," the man chuckled, "we have to make sure we only give entrance to the better breed of gentlemen."

Saal's lip curled slightly with disapproval but eventually reached out and briefly shook the man's hand. "And you do this with a handshake?"

"You would be surprised at how many make that mistake," the man admitted before holding a hand out towards a door. "Right this way, Sir. I will take you and your, er... I will bring you to your room."

"Very well," Saal said, sounding like he was being put through an immense amount of hassle.

Walking towards the room through posh hallways, Peter noticed that more often than not, the people they met would send him curious looks.

He'd left the Ravager garb behind, dressing down in dark grey and black clothing, but still something about him clearly made him stick out like a sore thumb and he had no idea what it was.

Eventually they halted by a golden door and the green suit guy opened said door with flourish, allowing Saal and Peter to enter before following, leaving the small group of guards to wait outside.  
The room was filled with every luxury Peter could think of, silk and gold and a table set with fancy food and wine.

This was how the rich people lived, Starlord realized with a touch of envy.

He'd go stir crazy after a short time in this golden cage, but he couldn't deny that it looked like a mighty nice place to go crazy in!

Saal scanned the room and the food as well, still wearing that sour look of disdain, and finally raised a sardonic eyebrow at the glass of wine surrounded by some deep red berries.  
"I take it that this is another one of your tests?" Saal said.

Their guide chuckled with a slight bow. "I'm afraid so." He clapped his hands twice and two servants appeared from the hallway, carrying two bottles of wine, and gave an almost apologetic smile to Saal as they replaced the wine. "We have to keep up standards, you understand."

"Then I suggest you upgrade your tests," Saal mumbled with thinly veiled contempt.

The man in the green suit cleared his throat. "Again, apologies, Sir Elji." He motioned for the servants to leave the room before focusing on Saal again. "I'm afraid I also must ask to see your invitation."

Letting his eyes scan the room once more, Saal absently pulled out the envelope from his inner pocket and held it out.

-

The standard of the room was as expected for someone of Elji's status, Saal mused. Not a level of luxury he was used to, but he had experienced it in his younger days, when his parents were still alive, and couldn't see anything else out of place once that horrid wine had been replaced.

Their guide took the invitation from him and explained briefly about room service, special services offered and that the official show started in a couple of hours.

Day One, Vision.

Nodding, Saal dismissed him with a faint wave of his hand.

Once the door closed behind the man, Peter let out a whistle and held out his arms. "Sweet digs, man! This is gonna be awesome."

Saal shrugged with a non-committing hum.

"So what was up with those tests?" Peter asked, moving over to sample some of the fruit on the table.

"Manners," Saal said, "one never offers the left hand during a greeting."

Peter sent him a blank look.

Slightly embarrassed, the Centurion cleared his throat. "It's just... something we learn. Old tradition."

"And the wine?"

Now that did make Saal wrinkle his nose in disgust. "Needleberrie wine. The cheap kind of wine favored by alcoholics and poor people. No one in the upper class would touch that."

Snorting amused, Peter shook his head slightly. "No damn wonder Yondu and his crew couldn't crack this place. You rich people and your weird ways."

"To be fair," Saal drawled, "you Ravages have some odd ways of your own."

Peter laughed. "True." He snapped his fingers a couple of times. "Oh, hey, since you know everything, why was everyone staring at me when we walked over here?"

Saal's lips tugged at a smile. "You noticed that, huh?"

"Hard not to," Peter replied.

"I'm not sure, but if I was to hazard a guess," Saal said, struggling to stay serious, "I'd say it was because you don't exactly fit the... stereotype of what most rich people would bring here."

That gave him another blank look from the Terran.

"What do you mean?" Peter asked, gazing down at himself. "I changed out of my Ravager clothes. What's so weird about what I'm wearing now?"

Saal gave a soft laugh. "It's not the clothes." He tried to find a delicate way to put it. "Like I said, I can't be sure, but... I think most 'companions' are... younger. And smaller."

Peter blinked. "Are you calling me old and fat?"

That brought a full laugh from Saal. "No!" He shook his head. "But the kind of people who frequent these places seems to prefer their 'companions' awfully young. Close to adolescent, With less muscles." He moved over and nudged Peter's chin with a teasing pinch. "And with less facial hair."

That made the Terran wrinkle his nose in disgust. "Ew. You rich people aren't just weird, you're nasty as well."

Saal waved a half-hearted finger to correct him. "There are those of your criminal ilk with the same taste, so no comparing all wealthy people to this lot, thank you very much."

Peter grumbled. "Point taken."

Once that argument was settled, Saal glanced at the door with a sigh. "Now, onto business. How are we going to be able to search for that blasted gemstone? There were guards at every door we passed."

Flinching, Peter hushed him. "Dude! What if this room is bugged?"

The Centurion shook his head. "No. There won't be any surveillance inside the rooms. Such equipment would be impossible for Kvist to explain as anything but intended for blackmail. It would be... rude."

That made the Ravager send him a look of disbelief and start another muttered rant about the weirdness of rich people.

-

They discussed their options back and forth for a bit and decided to lay low for the remaining part of the day.  
Security was too tight, but hopefully it would be easier to move around during night time.

Also, Peter was determined to get some fun out of this mission!

What were the odds of him ever getting to set foot inside a Lotus club ever again?

And he was just dying to see the look on Garthan's face when he came face to face with what the club had to offer.

It took some persuading to get the Centurion to agree to attend the show instead of just hiding in the room, Peter helpfully pointed out that it would seem odd if Saal didn't attend anything, and eventually he agreed. 

Very reluctantly.

A short while after that, they made their way down the hallway and towards the night's show.  
Vision, the pamphlet in their room had declared, the sense to be celebrated tonight!

Saal had changed into a very nice black and blue outfit, slipping into the life of luxury with the ease of someone brought up in it, but he did seem tense at the idea of showing his face in front of the rich crowd.

"They'll be busy staring at the show," Peter declared merrily.

Saal sent him a sour glare, but didn't comment.

The doors to the grand hall opened and the two came to an abrupt halt to stare at what was waiting inside.

Scantily dressed dancers were everywhere, accompanied by even more scantily dressed musicians and thrilled rich people.  
Peter could feel the grin spreading on his face and then nearly ruined their entire cover story by barely keeping from collapsing with laughter at the sight of Saal's face.

There was plain shock and disbelief painted all over him.

A pink skinned dancer brushed pass them, swaying suggestively against the Centurion for a moment, winking, before slithering off and leaving the dark haired man even more startled and Peter had to reach out and touch his elbow to keep him from fleeing.

"Maybe we should sit down or something?" Peter suggested.

Saal cleared his throat, attempting to regain his voice and his dignity. "Right. Yes."

The Ravager had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing as a second dancer did a little shimmying in front of Saal and the man looked ready to crawl out of his skin to escape.  
"Er, yes, thank you," Saal stuttered, trying to dodge the dancer and head for the table with his name on it, "very nice of you."

Peter grinned at the dancer when he followed the fleeing Saal and got a flustered giggle in return.

"I think I'm going to like it here," the Ravager declared as they sat down by the table.

Saal reached out to drink most of the content in his wine glass before staring at the empty plate in front of him, determined to keep his gaze on something safe. "This is going to end badly."

Laughing softly, Peter leaned towards him. "Cheer up, buddy. Enjoy the moment!"

Drinking the rest of the content in his glass, Saal exhaled a heavy sigh. "Yes, this is most definitely going to end badly."

Peter decided to ignore the party-pooper and took in the sights around him. 

All sorts of races, genders and ages could be seen dancing or performing tricks of some sorts. 

It seemed like the Lotus club did indeed offer all sorts, whatever rocked your spaceship, and Peter couldn't help looking forward to what else the club had planned...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A sliiiightly shorter chapter this time, but as I am going away next week I decided to put this chapter out there instead of waiting yet another week before updating... Hope that is okay and that you enjoyed!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Saal had clearly done something wrong in a previous life and was now being punished for it.
> 
> The Centurion could think of no other reason why he would find himself in a situation like this;   
> with scantily dressed people with no shame who flaunted their flexible bodies in ways that did not belong in public and Peter looking like a child set free in a toy shop.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, apologies for long delay before update. Life happened... But I have no plans on giving up on this fic or this canoe of a ship just yet! *insert cackling laugh*

Saal had clearly done something wrong in a previous life and was now being punished for it.

The Centurion could think of no other reason why he would find himself in a situation like this; with scantily dressed people with no shame who flaunted their flexible bodies in ways that did not belong in public and Peter looking like a child set free in a toy shop.

Sighing, he refilled his wine glass and reminded himself that they were there for a reason, not simply to stare, and there was indeed a mission to accomplish.

"Do you mind?"  
A voice suddenly pulled Saal out of his misery and he quickly turned to look at the man hovering by his left.

The stranger was a blond man with pale grey eyes and a friendly smile.

Saal scanned him briefly, taking in the aura of wealth and the confident posture before giving a faint nod towards the chair the man was resting his hands on. "Not at all."  
He made sure to make his voice courteous, but nothing more.

While the soldier in him reacted with full alertness and suspicion, Saal reminded himself that he was supposed to be a regular nobleman now and to act like it; polite and aloof.

"I haven't seen you here before," the stranger said, sliding into the seat with the elegance of someone who knew how his body moved.

A movement caught in the corner of his vision told Saal that Peter had noticed the stranger as well and hovered a little closer like a protective goon.  
"I never saw the attraction of these places," Saal drawled, pretending to watch a yellow-skinned dancer with mild boredom.

"What changed your mind?" The stranger asked, leaning back in his chair, clearly amused.

Saal shrugged one shoulder. "I was told not to."

The stranger laughed and nodded with approval. "I like it!" He held out his hand, the right one. "My name is Hollend."

The handshake was firm and warm, an even clearer signal of the man's confidence.  
"Elji," Saal replied.

Hollend's gaze slid up to the hovering form next to Saal. "And who is this?"

Saal kept his eyes on Hollend. "That there is Jason." 

Raising his eyebrows, the blond man made no effort to hide how he was sizing the Ravager up and down and liking what he was seeing. "Bodyguard?"

"He does a little bit of everything," Saal replied, allowing a little resentment to trickle into the tone.

Fair enough that Peter was something to look at, but manners dictated that Hollend at least tried to pretend he wasn't ogling.

Hollend turned his focus back to Saal and gave a guilty little smile. "Sorry." 

While it stuck in his craw to do it, the Centurion gave a faint nod of forgiveness. 

He saw the stranger glancing briefly at the scars on his face, but didn't really react or linger on them. Saal realized with a heavy heart that it probably wasn't uncommon for broken rich people to spend time at the Lotus club where they could still pretend to be a catch.

While this gave him an even more credible excuse for being there, other than being bored, Garthan couldn't prevent a wave of humiliation from washing through him.

"How are you liking it so far?" Hollend asked.

Saal made a non-committing hum. "It's only day one."

"But?"

"But, so far I haven't seen anything I haven't seen some place else," Saal countered with the faintest hint of disappointment.  
Which was a blatant lie.

-

Peter couldn't quite help himself from staring at Saal.

Watching him work, pretending to be the polar opposite of his true self, it was such a tasty sight.

If it hadn't been for that Hollend guy, Starlord would have been all over him by now.  
He made a mental note for them to play 'rich guy and his bodyguard' in more private surroundings once this mission was over.

Years of training had made Peter capable of multitasking, so he was able to both ogle Saal and yet take note of the dwelling gaze the blond stranger gave him.  
He filed it away under things they could possibly exploit in their hunt for the gemstone.

(Unfortunately Saal had underlined to infinity and back that servants did not speak unless spoken to, otherwise Peter would have taken advantage of blondie's interest already.)

"Will Kvist grace us with his presence?" Saal asked after a few more pleasantries were exchanged.

Hollend shrugged. "He usually puts in an appearance, but hard to say how long he will be staying or what kind of mood he'll be in." He gestured to their surroundings. "For someone owning the prettiest things in this galaxy, he is one moody guy!"

The conversation was briefly interrupted by one of the female dancers, Peter's favorite, making a visit to their table and the Centurion instantly went for more liquid courage.

Starlord was more than a little amused to see Saal emerge from the desperate dive into his wine glass only to be greeted by the dancer's cleavage. To his surprise, the man actually smiled.  
It was a tiny, drunken smile, but a smile nonetheless.

The wine was clearly doing miracles if it managed to loosen the uptight collar on Garthan!

With that kind of beauty up close it was only natural to enjoy it, in Peter's opinion and he had to bite his lower lip to keep from smiling himself.

Maybe they could play 'rich guy, his bodyguard and the dancer' some time too?

It wasn't until hours later when Hollend nudged Saal and pointed towards the door. "You were wondering about Kvist?"

The man who had just entered through a door near the stage was a slightly older version of the one in the photographs Yondu had given them.  
"That's him?" Saal asked innocently.

Peter could detect a slight slur in his voice from the wine.

"That's him," Hollend confirmed, filling up their glasses again. "The man himself."

Studying Kvist, Peter could see someone in good shape with sharp eyes and a clearly paranoid mind with the way he kept scouting around the room.

Great. The worst kind of guy to steal from.

Kvist was of medium height, dark hair and even darker eyes. He was wearing a suit probably worth more than the Milano and Kevin Bacon put together.

Their mark didn't hang around very long, leaving with what appeared to be two bodyguards only minutes later, and there wasn't much they could do after that but watch the rest of the show.

Hollend didn't appear to be leaving any time soon and it was hard to stake out the hallways with the guards checking everybody's coming and goings.  
To be honest, Peter wasn't complaining though.

In fact, he was more than a little impressed by the flexibleness of a lovely green-skinned guy who did some dance moves which were probably illegal on Xandar.

Saal, tipsy by now, didn't seem to know where to rest his gaze and kept trying not to linger too long on any particular dancer.  
Hollend kept the talk going, describing last year's show and his own journey to this one, and Saal kept his replies polite yet vague.

The Centurion might not like what he was doing, but he clearly had a talent for lying.

When the show finished, Hollend got up and grinned widely. "Well, this year is certainly off to a promising start, Elji. I apologize for running off like this, but one has to be quick if one wants to secure oneself one of the more popular dancers for a more private showing."

-

His head was spinning slightly from the wine and Saal had to force himself to smile. "It's perfectly fine, Hollend. Thank you for the company and the information this evening."  
The idea of 'ordering' a dancer to his chambers like a twisted version of room service made Garthan feel a wave of disgust.

The blond shook his hand one more time. "Hope to see you tomorrow. Enjoy the rest of the evening."

"I shall," Saal replied and pretended not to see Hollend glancing up at Peter when he replied in turn.

"I'm sure you will."

Finally it was just the two of them again.  
"Peter..." Saal mumbled quietly, lifting a hand to wave him closer.

Smirking, the Ravager took a step closer and leaned down. "Sir?"

"Don't you sir me. It's not funny." Saal drew a deep breath. "I think I misjudged the wine..."

"So it would seem," Peter said, still in that obnoxiously glib tone.

Closing his eyes briefly, Saal hung on to his temper by pure force of will. "Are you going to help me or not?"

The Ravager grinned, clearly enjoying this far too much, and took a hold of Saal's arm to aid him to his feet. "You're the boss... Boss..."

Grumbling, Saal started walking towards the exit. "I'm telling you, it's not funny, okay?"

Peter made a sound which indicated that he didn't fully agree with that, but by then they were passing the guards and he couldn't really speak up.  
The hallway seemed to go on forever and while Saal tried to glance around and pick up the details, his brain was doing a slow spin inside his skull.

He groaned with relief once they entered the room and slowly pushed away from the other man to stumble towards the bed. "I told you... I'm not any good at this... pretend stuff."  
Falling face down into the pillows, Saal waited for the world to stop spinning.

He heard Peter saunter over and felt the bed dip when he sat down next to him.

"Oh, I don't know about that," the Ravager murmured, drawing a light hand through Saal's hair. "You had that Hollend guy convinced."

Feeling a flash of smug pride, Saal rolled over on his side to grin up at him. "I did, didn't I?"

Peter nodded with a slight laugh. "Yep. A proper criminal mastermind, that's what you are."

The smile vanished from Saal's face, happy feeling was gone, and a frown replaced it. "Don't you start getting any ideas, Quill. This is a one-time deal. Once my debt to Udonta is paid, I'm staying far out of your criminal activities."

Whining, Peter leaned down to nuzzle Saal's neck. "Wasting this kind of talent 'is' criminal, you know!"

Garthan snorted amused, pleasantly warm by both the wine and Peter's presence. "You can flatter all you want, my dear, but it's not going to happen."

Saal blinked when he felt a couple of lingering kisses on his neck and light fingers trailing down his shirt to tug it free of his pants. He quickly reached out and placed his own hand over Peter's, pressing it down against his stomach and preventing it from escalating further.  
"And that is another thing that isn't happening," the Centurion stated.

Peter lifted his head to stare confused down at him. "What?" Confused and a bit horrified.

"I'm not," Saal waved his free hand, "I'm not bloody Hollend!"

It made Peter look even more confused. "Yeah? And?"

Sighing, Saal stared evenly at him, or as evenly as his still spinning mind allowed him. "So we're behaving!"

Shaking his head, Peter eased down next to him again. "You're drunk, man."

"I'm nothing like him," Saal mumbled as his eyes were drifting shut, "way way better."

Peter patted his stomach amiably. "Yes, you are. A bazillion times better."

The Centurion fell asleep with a smug smirk on his face and a restless Ravager by his side.

-

Peter was a little surprised to find himself waking up before the Centurion the next morning.  
Usually Saal would be the first out of bed, no matter how much he'd been drinking, but this time the dark haired man had his face firmly mashed into his pillow and deep even breaths told the Ravager he was deep into the dream realm.

Huh. Strange.

Sitting up, Starlord blinked the sleep out of his eyes while shedding the sheets he'd been burrowed under. 

Just the fact that Saal had fallen asleep while fully dressed was unusual. Clearly the wine had not been any ordinary wine, but Peter didn't see any signs of poisoning or sickness so he figured it was best for Garthan to merely sleep it off.

Smiling softly, the Ravager dared to draw a couple of strands of hair back from what he could see of Saal's face and hoped the after-effect wouldn't be too bad.

He slipped out of bed and did a quick change of clothes before heading for the door.  
No harm in getting some scouting done while Saal was out of it.

Despite what the Centurion believed, Peter had studied the schematics of the place, but he also knew from experience that when dealing with paranoid people like Kvist, you had to consider hidden doors, secret safes and high tech alarms which were not on any paper.

He got as far as opening the door and popping his head out into the hallway before a young man hovering outside the door spun around to face him with a big smile.  
"Good morning, may I be of assistance?"

Peter blinked before managing to gather himself. "Uh, I... Breakfast. He, my boss, wants breakfast..."

He rambled off some random order and quickly shut the door once the man left.

From the glance he'd gotten and what he'd seen yesterday, the Ravager knew there were cameras in the hallways and servants hovering near every door in case the guests craved something.

It wasn't the most complicated place he'd broken into, but it was high up on the list.

Stalking over to the window, Peter checked if he could open it and if there were cameras outside as well.  
It opened a few inches and he could see both cameras and guards outside as well.

Frowning, Starlord considered his options for a few seconds before he wandered over to wake up Saal.

He'd suspected it would be a daylight heist, but had hoped to keep Saal out of it as much as possible.  
That was no longer an option.

"Hey," Peter said, sitting down next to the sleeping form and gently shook his shoulder. "Rise and shine, big boy."

Saal squeezed his eyes shut even tighter and squirmed over to hide his face completely in the pillow, a plaintive groan rumbling in his chest.

"I know," Peter mumbled with a touch of empathy, "but I need you to wake up."

With obvious reluctance, Saal inched over on his side to peer up at him with one bleary eye. "What...?"

Peter made a face. "Breakfast."

Saal grunted and hid in the pillow again, mumbling into the fabric. "No."

"Sorry, but yeah. They caught me sneaking into the hallway and I had to make up some excuse."

Sighing, Saal gave up and rolled over on this back to glance up at him. "No, I'm sorry." He rubbed his face, pale and clearly in pain. "Never been this affected by wine before..."

Peter shrugged. "Doubt it was just wine. They probably spiced it up a little."

Frowning, Saal let his hands fall to the mattress. "No more wine. Duly noted." He sat up with a groan, swaying a bit before finding his balance. "First night and I already mess it up. Some criminal mastermind."

Laughing with fond amusement, Peter got up. "It's not that serious, Garthan. Give yourself a break. We still got four days, okay?"

The Centurion gave a nod, still a little green, but increasingly awake and clear eyed. "Can't bloody wait..."

-

The food was amazing, so it was a shame that Saal had to force himself to eat it.  
Luckily his stomach decided to keep it despite some uneasy rolling and the feeling of having his skull filled with cotton receded as a result.

Peter pacing the room like a restless cat was the only thing grating on his nerves.

The Centurion took another sip of water before leaning back and glancing over at the Ravager now hovering by the window. "So what's the plan?"

Shrugging, Peter sauntered over and sat down by the table as well. "We should try to do as much recon as possible. Check out the layout of the place, if there are any places with increased security that didn't show up on Yondu's intel."

"Fair enough," Saal said, drawing a hand through his messy black hair in an effort to tame it.

He noted the Terran grinning at the sight and rolled his eyes somewhat. There would come a day when Peter wouldn't be entertained by his usually so finely combed hair appearing like a crazed haystack, but today was obviously not that day.

"I'm taking a shower," Garthan grumbled and didn't wait for Peter to suggest that he could join.

Hot water and a change of clothes made him feel far more like himself and Saal was both alert and ready when they ventured out of the room.  
Like before, a servant hovered right outside the door, but the Centurion dismissed him with barely a glance.

(Should he be unsettled by how it grew easier and easier to fall into his old behavior based on his old mindset?)

Their exploring revealed a never ending amount of wealth and abundance, both in items and people, but also a very luxurious garden with lush plants and small fountains with colorful water creatures.

"For a guy who doesn't bug our rooms, Kvist sure makes up for that with cameras on every surface outside of them," Peter mumbled.

Saal hummed his agreement. "I'm guessing it is his way of ensuring the clientele that he will make sure no uninvited guests will get inside without him knowing." He gave a slightly regal nod to a guest sending a nod his way, but smoothly turned to walk a path leading away from the person so he wouldn't have to actually engage in conversation.

He was also a little impressed to see Peter on target, his gaze flickering around to scan for weaknesses.

"I don't see how we're supposed to discover where Kvist is hiding that gemstone when we can't take a step outside the room without being watched," Saal said quietly to the Terran after a second stroll through the gardens.

Peter shrugged. "Gotta be patient. Take the chance when opportunity presents itself."

"Wing it?" Saal asked.

"Exactly!" Peter looked up at him with an almost feral grin. "Wing it!"

While it was Peter Quill's expertise, Garthan wasn't all that comfortable with the idea. He preferred to have things planned out in advance.

They did a bit more scouting, checking out the common rooms where art was displayed and odd games were played, but eventually returned to their room to get ready for tonight's show.

Changing into black pants and a white shirt, Saal was still adjusting the collar when he walked out of the bathroom. "Whatever happens tonight, I'm staying far away from that wine!"

Peter, in the middle of marking up what they'd learned on the map he'd gotten from Yondu, glanced up and let out a whistle of approval.

Confused, Saal did a final adjustment on the collar before letting his hands fall to his sides. "What?"

The Terran lifted an eyebrow and sauntered over to him. "Nothing. It's just... nice."

There was no mistaking the interest in Peter's eyes and Saal felt heat rising in his own blood. 

It took an enormous amount of willpower to slide by the Ravager and walk over to peer at the map.  
"How are we doing? Got any ideas where to start looking?" Saal asked. 

-

Peter inched over to hover behind the other man, wrapping his arms around his waist and resting his chin on the Centurion's shoulder.   
"West is out. My guess is somewhere central or east. Security is heaviest there." Peter said, savoring how solid and warm Saal felt in his embrace.

Lifting a hand, the dark haired man drew light fingertips over Peter's left hand in a lingering caress. "Then we need to focus on those areas tomorrow."

"Uh huh," Peter agreed absently, leaning over to place a kiss on Saal's neck.  
He knew Saal meant for them to keep their mind on the job, but there was only so much a guy could take and that outfit made it just too tempting...

A violent stab of lust jabbed into Starlord when the Centurion tilted his head, offering up more skin, and leaned ever so slightly back against him.

It was followed by an even more violent stab of wanting to murder when they were interrupted by a knock on the door.

Predictably it made the dark haired man squirm out of his embrace and wave for him to answer the door.  
Still hot and bothered, Peter sullenly considered sniping if there was something wrong with Saal's hands since he couldn't open the damn door himself, but remembered that he was supposed to be the manservant here.

A young boy was outside. He handed a large envelope to Peter before bowing and walking away.

Hesitating, glancing after where the boy had vanished, the Ravager glanced down at the envelope in his hand with an uneasy feeling.

"Who was it?" Saal asked.

Peter withdrew into the room again, closing the door. "A message, I think. For you."

Saal's undercover name was on the front of the envelope, but otherwise it was nothing but plain paper on the outside.

The Centurion waited for him to come back over to the table. "A message? From whom?"

Peter merely shook his head.

Ignoring the Ravager's protest, Saal took and opened the envelope.   
Inside was a note with words written in a neat hand.

"It's Kvist," Saal said, reading on. "He apologizes for not being there to welcome me on my arrival but hopes I am enjoying myself." Dark eyes flickered up to meet Peter's gaze for a moment. "He wants to meet and will send a message when he can free up time to do it properly."

Peter frowned, considering what the message meant.

"Do you think he knows?" Saal asked quietly, folding the note and putting it back into the envelope.

Leaning on previous experiences with paranoid rich people, Peter crossed his arms and leaned his weight on one leg. "I don't think so." He shrugged. "He suspects. But people like him always do, it's the rules of Paranoia Club. You're new so it's only natural for him to be suspicious of you, yet I doubt he 'knows'."

"How can you be so sure?"

Peter smirked. "Because if he knew, we'd be knee-deep in guards and bullets by now."

Saal blinked.

"Don't worry about it," Peter said. "Just... keep up the act, stay calm, and we'll try to get out of here before his suspicions turns into something more serious."

Nodding, Saal slowly lowered the envelope to the table. "Right. Okay."

"Hey," Peter murmured, moving over and taking a light hold of Saal's shirt collars. "Tonight is celebrating the sense of smell. Sounds pretty interesting, don't you think?"

Saal raised an eyebrow. "Considering last night, I'm more worried to be honest. Something tells me it won't be a curious evening of pleasing smells but rather some lewd and twisted version of it."

Grinning from ear to ear, Peter tugged him closer. "I sure as hell hope so!"

Saal snorted, somewhere between annoyed and amused as usual, before pulling free and heading for the door. "Come on."

-

The celebration was held in a different room that night. There were no scenes, but instead long rows of tables with strange jars on them.

"Sir Elji!"

Saal closed his eyes briefly at the voice calling his name. He'd barely stepped inside the room and Hollend was already on his case? 

One of the things he did not miss about mingling with the upper class was how manners prevented him from telling the guy to fuck off and leave him alone.

Putting on a smile, the Centurion walked over to the table where Hollend was sitting. "Hollend."

The man gestured for him to sit down and Saal did.  
"Celebrating the sense of smell," Garthan mumbled, glancing around at the other people in hopes of spotting Kvist and failing. "What does that entail, exactly?"

Hollend chuckled, sipping from a glass of wine and stealing a glance up at Peter. "If you don't know, you're in for a treat!"

Feeling a tickle of irritation, both at the lack of an answer and the ogling of 'his' criminal, Saal clenched his jaw to keep himself from snapping something at the rich man.  
He chose to glance up at Peter as well instead and sent him his best bored expression. "Get me a drink."

The Ravager nodded and headed for a the table with different kinds of drinks on display.

"No wine?" Hollend asked, holding up his own glass and took another sip.

"No," Saal replied. "Not tonight."

He straightened slightly when a row of all sorts of beautiful people came into the room, carrying treys with small green bottles on them.  
The bottles were then placed, one by one, in front of the guests in the room.

"You're in for SUCH a treat," Hollend crowed.

Frowning, Saal eyed the bottle with dry disdain. "Drinks? What does this have to do with the sense of smell?"

Hollend merely picked up his own bottle and began to undo the cork.  
All the other people around the room were doing the same so Saal picked up the bottle in front of him.

Strangely enough he couldn't see any liquid inside the semi-transparent glass bottle and Saal felt a flicker of curiousness. He began to undo the cork and failed to see Peter glance over at him with a violent start after talking to one of the people handing out the bottles.

Opening what appeared to be an empty bottle, taking a sniff and smelling nothing made Saal wonder if the entire thing was a joke and he was about to ask Hollend when the man next to him made a deep throated groan.

"Sir!" Peter's voice called out, oddly enough he sounded more than a little startled, and Saal turned to face him as the Ravager was trotting towards him.

"What...?" Saal began, but failed to finish his question as heat suddenly flared up in his blood and he shut his eyes at the sensation.

"Sir," Peter repeated, by his side now, "I don't think you should..."

Saal drew a deep breath, feeling like he couldn't get oxygen into his lungs, and realized it was way to warm in the room all of a sudden.

"Sir?" Peter crouched down next to him, placing a light hand on his knee to gain his attention. "Sir, listen, we should really get out of here. Okay?"

Saal licked his lips and managed to open his eyes to focus on the Ravager.  
Peter had always been good looking in Saal's eyes, but the Centurion felt like he would implode if he didn't get his hands on the man this very moment!

A distant part of Saal's brain which was still functioning tried to point out how worried Peter was looking, but it was quickly drowned in a wave of lust so intense that nothing else mattered.

He was about to dive forward to kiss him when the other man yanked him to his feet. "Okay, we're out of here. Sir."

Saal wanted to object, tell him that here was fine, to ignore the fact that suddenly people were getting undressed and very friendly, but the Ravager merely tugged him along towards the door.

Garthan didn't object because, really, privacy was perfectly fine too for what he wanted to do anyways.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Usually if somebody said 'orgy', Peter would be halfway out of his clothes and yelling; "where?" before that person could finish the word, but in this case he couldn't get out of the room fast enough.
> 
> As much as he loved a good rumble, and hoped to introduce Saal to the idea one day too, he knew the Centurion was nowhere ready for it right now and would probably end up traumatized the next day instead of smugly satisfied.
> 
> Also, there was the minor matter of that the guy was high as a kite at the moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It lives! It liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiives!!! And apologies to anyone still reading this for the long wait. Life and whatnot. But it still lives! The canoe sails!

Usually if somebody said 'orgy', Peter would be halfway out of his clothes and yelling; "where?" before that person could finish the word, but in this case he couldn't get out of the room fast enough.

As much as he loved a good rumble, and hoped to introduce Saal to the idea one day too, he knew the Centurion was nowhere ready for it right now and would probably end up traumatized the next day instead of smugly satisfied.

Also, there was the minor matter of that the guy was high as a kite at the moment.

Peter clenched his jaw a little under the heavy weight of Saal basically hanging on him, barely shuffling along while nuzzling the Ravager's neck. "You're gonna owe me for this, dude."

The reply was a nonsensical mumble and a hand sliding under Peter's shirt to trail over his stomach.

"Okay," Starlord breathed, hoisting Saal a little to get a better hold and hurry even faster towards their room. "Just... easy there, big boy. Easy."

He'd asked the servant girl out of lazy curiosity about what was in the bottles but the second she'd replied "concentrated pheromones", Peter knew things would get out of hand in the room very quickly and that he needed to get Mister Uptight out of there.  
He had not been prepared for being unable to get to the soldier in time to prevent him from inhaling the vapor.

"Big time," Peter mumbled, clenching his jaw harder when he felt Saal's teeth brush by his neck, "you're going to owe me big time!"

He felt an absurd flicker of relief once he saw the door to their room and dared to exhale once he got them inside and out of camera sight.  
It was a sigh that got stuck in his throat when Saal suddenly pulled him further into the room.

"Whoa there," Starlord yelped and stumbled backwards when the other man gave him a firm push, ending up sitting on the end of the bed with a hazy eyed Centurion hovering over him.  
"Saal," Peter began, "Garthan, listen..."

He was cut off as Saal leaned down to kiss him with contagious hunger and it made him whine at his dilemma.

Cupping Saal's face between his hands, Peter leaned back and tried to look into his eyes. "Hey, big guy, listen to me."

Saal tried to shake his head, semi-successful. "Don't want to." He licked his lips and let his gaze trail downwards Peter's body. "Want something else..."

Starlord actually whimpered. "Fuck... This isn't fair..." He drew a calming breath. "That bottle, do you remember the bottle? It had pheromones inside it."

"So?" Saal breathed, placing his hands on Peter's knees, shoving them further apart and kneeling down between them.

It forced another strangled whimper from the Ravager. "So you don't really know what you're doing right now, dude..." His hips twitched automatically when Saal's hands ran up his thighs. "Oh, so not fair..."

Saal peered up at him, a devious smirk on his face. "I've been wanting to do this for ages, Peter."

Starlord stared for a few seconds, too turned on for his brain to function properly, but then clever hands began to undo his pants and he reached down to stop them. "Garthan, please, you're killing me here. It's the drugs talking and..."  
His voice trailed off when Saal leaned up and shut him up with a slow and devious kiss.

"Peter Quill," the Centurion mumbled into his mouth, "while I admit to feeling a little unlike myself, that the bottle has had some effect on me, I'm perfectly able to remember if I've wanted to do this or not. Now shut up and let me get my mouth on you."

-

Peter tried to formulate a sentence or at least a word to stall further, but by then Saal had opened his pants and all thought-process went out the window.

He was already aching with lust by the time the Centurion freed his cock, but that didn't prevent Saal from leaning down to kiss and caress him further.  
Peter felt like his blood caught fire and electricity shot through him at random intervals. It made him fall backwards onto the mattress , struggling to both breathe and to keep from bucking his hips up in search of more of that wonderful mouth.

This was close to ridiculous. It wasn't like Starlord was new to getting a blowjob, he'd even gotten them from some of the best in the galaxy, and it wasn't like HE was the drugged one, yet...  
Yet it was the fact that it was his beautiful, gorgeous, uptight and perfect Garthan Saal who was giving it to him which sent Starlord back to his teenage years.

All air was punched out of his lungs at the sensation of lips wrapping around him and being engulfed by wet heat.

Peter was shivering hard now from the combination of pleasure and the strain of keeping still, failing to notice Saal tugging lightly at his hips at first but was too afraid of hurting him when he did.  
It took a hard pinch at his side to snap him out of it.

Peter's fingers were locked in a hard grip on the sheets, it was almost painful to untangle them, yet it was extremely easy to reach out and carefully slide them through Saal's hair before angling his hips slightly upwards.  
Oh gods, that felt good...

Taking care to keep his movements slow and gentle, Peter allowed himself to get lost in bliss. A bliss that was rapidly approaching a glorious end.

It was happening too fast for his liking, way too fast, but there was no way Starlord could fight against it. 

No matter how much he wanted it to last, he had to give it up and euphoria flushed up his spine and out through his veins.

Shuddering through the aftershocks, the Ravager gulped down air and tried to reboot his brain and still his twitching hips.  
"Damn it, you're turning me into a ten second man," Peter panted with a wry smile. "I'm supposed to be the expert here..."

Saal chuckled, unfolding and sliding up next to him, maneuvering Starlord over on his side. "Had a brilliant teacher."

It made Peter breathe another laugh, hearing and feeling the man rustling with something behind him, but too loose limbed to care.  
He also did anything but resist when Saal tugged to remove his clothes.

Hands on his skin, lips on his skin... so much skin against skin and Peter was soon caught between an instinctual urge to pull away to give his over stimulated nerves a chance to recover and the need to press closer in search of more. After that amazing blowjob, Peter expected to be sated for quite a while, yet it felt like Saal's hands were wounding him up once more and it felt very different from previous experiences.

Was it possible for the Nova Force power to transfer his need to Peter? If that was the case, was he aware of doing it? Either way, it was very VERY important for them to explore it further at every opportunity in the future!

Garthan claimed to have had a very good teacher, but Peter could brag about having a prodigy student; Starlord only got the briefest preparation before the former soldier pushed into the heat and giving him the friction and burn Peter loved.

His hand flailed for a moment before he got a death grip on the sheets again, pushing back against Saal and hearing an embarrassing groan emerging from his own lips.

Too much! Not enough!

Luckily Garthan didn't need instructions or orders in any way, holding him down when the Ravager didn't know where to go, working them both towards a climax without mercy.

When it hit them both, it felt like touching an Infinity Stone all over again.

-

When morning broke, Saal slowly returned to the land of the awake. His head filled like it was stuffed with wool, not exactly hurting, but the thought-process wasn't moving at the speed of light.  
It wasn't too hard to figure out that he was lying in bed and that the weight on his stomach was Peter, curled up under the covers again, but then he began to piece together the previous evening.

He could remember bits and images, cringing a little with embarrassment.

"Stop." Peter's voice emerged sleepily from underneath the sheet. "I can 'hear' your brain going into overdrive. Relax, dude."

Saal huffed a laugh. "Easy for you to say. You didn't act like a tosser last night."

The Ravager burrowed his way up and out from under the sheets, peering down at him with a smug smirk. "I kinda liked the way you acted."

Trying in vain to hold on to his dignity, Saal turned his face away to hide the foolish grin threatening to take a hold. 

"And I did save you from the orgy," Peter added casually, easing down to rest his chin on Saal's chest.

"From the what?" Saal yelped, sitting up and failing to notice Starlord tumbling to the mattress.

Clearly amused, Peter rolled over on his side and supported his head with one hand. "The orgy. You know, the one which was just starting up when I dragged you out of there."

Saal could feel himself grow pale. Oh dear gods, he almost got involved in a flipping orgy!  
Clearly the expression on his face was priceless as Peter broke down laughing.

"This isn't funny!" Saal sniped, scrambling out of bed and yanked the sheets along with him to cover up the shreds of his modesty. "What the bloody hell is wrong with these people? Bunch of dastardly perverts, the lot of them! Honestly! An orgy!"

Peter merely kept on laughing so the Centurion spun around while wrapping the sheets around his waist to really start yelling at him, but the words died on his tongue at what he saw.

"Oh, Peter..." He sat back down on the bed again, reaching out to gently touch the bruises on Peter's right hip. "I'm sorry..."

Unconcerned about his nudity as well as the bruises, the man merely sat up, wrapped his arms around Saal's shoulders and leaned close to whisper in his ear. "I'm not." And then bit down on his earlobe, just enough to cause the tiniest flicker pain and a strong shiver down his spine.

Saal ducked his head a little with a smile, feeling both interested and embarrassed by his reaction. "Yeah, well, I am." He let his hand cover the bruised hip and this time it was his turn to whisper. "But lucky for you, I can undo the damage done."

The Nova Force came alive under his skin and he channeled some of it into the other man, seeking out and fixing what had been hurt.

Afterwards, Peter leaned back and stared wide-eyed at him. "You know, I haven't really thought about it, but that there... that's damn convenient!"

Saal couldn't help it. He laughed.

"Thank you," Saal said, leaning forward and resting his forehead against Peter's. "For getting me out of there. I appreciate it."

Peter hummed, closing his eyes with a slight smile. "Any time, lawman."

Dwelling a few seconds more, Saal eventually made himself pull away and head for the shower.

"Are you going to shower with the sheets on?" Peter called out after him. "Come on, give us a show!"

The Centurion stuck his chin out, lifted a dark eyebrow and was about to throw him a sour reply.  
Not looking back, but with perfect aim, Saal threw the sheets into his face instead and was rewarded with Peter's muffled laugh through the bathroom door.

The smug smile on Saal's face froze when he suddenly found himself staring at his reflection in the mirror. 

He stared for a heartbeat or two, then slowly reached up and touched the scarred side of his face.

It was strange. He was forgetting his ruined appearance for longer and longer periods of time. Peter's obvious delight in watching him, wanting him, made it hard to remember he was broken goods.

Letting his hand fall to his side, Saal regained his smile.

Maybe he was forever reduced in other eyes, but it didn't matter to a certain Ravager and Saal was starting to wonder if Peter might not just be right about that.

-

While Saal was in the shower, Peter ordered breakfast and told the Centurion to start without him when he reemerged and merely swapped places.

The hot steam cleared his mind and woke him up enough to put up a mental schedule of which areas they should check out that day in hopes of narrowing down the number of rooms where they could find the gemstone.

He probably shouldn't have been surprised to discover that Saal had been doing the same thing while Peter cleaned up, but it was more than a little gratifying to see how in synch they were now.

A couple of innocent strolls and 'wrong turns' allowed them to rule out the easiest parts of the massive mansion and some of the gardens, but it basically only confirmed what they already knew.

It was the heavily guarded areas which made Peter's mouth water.  
He could almost smell the riches inside.  
Sure, Yondu had dibs on the gemstone, but if they were to pick up some other trinkets along the way, well, fortune favored the opportunistic and Peter wouldn't mind a huge fortune of units!

The off limits areas contained offices and the rooms of the regular clients, Peter concluded after they'd done a perimeter sweep, as close as they could get without waking suspicion.

Retreating back to their room, Peter unrolled the layout of the area and both of them jotted down details they'd discovered, from surveillance to number of guards to code-locks on doors.

Saal was still hovering over the paper, trying to stare a hole into it by the looks of it, when Peter noticed the time.  
"Oh, hey, isn't it about time...?"

Saal shook his head.

Frowning, Peter sidled up next to him. "Uh, yeah, it is."

"I'm not going."

"Wait, what?" Starlord shook his head a little. "Why not?"

Saal honored him with a quick glance before returning to their notes. "One, because it's pointless. I won't discover anything useful there. Two, because only the gods know what they got planned this time. I'm not risking another orgy, thank you very much."

Forcing away a smile, Peter made his way between him and the table, sitting down on the layout to make the man focus on him instead. "You know you gotta go, man."

Straightening his rigid spine, Saal glared.

This time Peter couldn't help the grin sliding in place. "Okay, listen, I get it. They're a little too, ah, liberal for you taste. I get it. But if you don't go, they're gonna turn suspicious and we still need all the time we can get to find the damn stone. "

Saal made a sound between a grumble and a whine.

Peter reached up and took a hold of his shirt collar with both hands, leaning forward and tugging Saal down towards him. "Don't worry, big boy." He winked. "I'll look after you."

The Centurion did not appear convinced.

"Here's what we'll do," Peter scooted a little closer, hooking his ankles behind and just above Saal's, "tonight is all about 'Taste', right? If someone you don't want touching you tries to taste you, you just let me know and I'll deal with it."

That tricked a tiny smile from the other man. "If someone tries to taste me, I will punch them."

"No punching," Peter tutted, tugging at the collar. "Let me deal with it!"

Groaning, Saal leaned forward, hiding his face to Peter's neck. "Fine...!"

Victory made the Ravage slide his hands up to go around Saal's neck and chuckle with smug satisfaction. "That's my soldier boy! Not afraid to march into war!"  
Now that made Saal grunt annoyed and pull free, leaving Peter to continue chuckling at his own smart mouth. "Come on," he said, "that was funny!"

"Ha. Ha," Saal stated, "hilarious."

Why worry, Peter thought. How bad could it get?

-

Heading towards the damn common room felt indeed far too much like marching off to war for Saal's taste.

The fancy clothes which had once been a natural part of him, like a second skin, now felt constricting and artificial as if he was trying to be someone he wasn't. Well, not anymore.

Entering the room, comforted only by the sound of Peter's footsteps trailing behind him, Saal didn't wait for the invitation this time and merely headed over to Hollend's table.  
Predictably the man lit up at the sight of him and gushed how pleased he was to see him again.  
Saal managed to glue a smile on and sat down on the seat offered to him. 

"You disappeared in such a hurry yesterday," Hollend said, filling up their glasses with a shiny purple wine. "I'm afraid you missed out on all the festivities that followed."

The smug smile made Saal's skin crawl.  
"Yeah, well," the Centurion sighed with feigned nonchalance, "I wasn't feeling all that energetic."

Hollend nodded with an overly sympathetic look. "I figured that was what it was, seeing how you didn't even touch your wine."

Saal shrugged and didn't hesitate to reach for the glass the man was holding out to him.  
He managed to drain half of the contents in one gulp before Peter's voice drifted quietly into his ear from where he was hovering over his shoulder. 

"Wine, sir? Are you sure you want to..."

Defiance flared up inside Saal and he took another demonstrative gulp. 

So what if the wine was laced? He needed something to get him through what was bound to be a horrid night of debauchery!  
Peter withdrew and didn't comment further, but Saal could feel the grin emanating from the other man. He knew he was acting childish, swallowing down liquid courage, but at the moment he didn't care.

"So, did you get around to meeting Kvist?" Hollend asked.

"No," Saal sighed, leaning back in the cushioned chair, "not yet. He sent me a lovely note though. Said he would try to find the time."

"That's Kvist for you. He's probably going to check you out five or six times before he graces you with a visit!" Hollend shrugged. "I didn't see the man until my third year. You must have caught his attention somehow if he's already courting you."

The idea both pleased and unsettled Saal. If Kvist approached him because he suspected something was wrong, it would most certainly complicate things. However, meeting the man could give Saal access to the inner sanctum of the place and provide information needed to steal the damn gemstone he was starting to hate.  
After this charade, they only had to nights left to find the bloody thing.

"Well, I'm no cheap date so I hope the man is worth it," Saal declared with a touch of his old haughty tone and Hollend laughed out loud.

It wasn't long after that when the servants began entering the room, carrying big plates with different dishes and barely any clothes.

Saal barely resisted the urge to roll his eyes, but only barely.

He saw Peter talking to one of the servants, using both charm and rank of being a personal pet it seemed, and leaned back a little when the Ravager returned to him with whatever information he had obtained.

"Good news, the food isn't drugged or anything," Peter mumbled for his ears only.

"One less worry," Saal mumbled in return, "a thousand to go."

That made Peter merely grin again.

Saal reached out for his wine glass and took a sip before speaking in a normal voice. "So. Tonight is just about eating? Really?"

Hollend shifted eagerly on his seat as a lovely yellow skinned servant was approaching him with a plate. "You won't be disappointed, I can promise you that."

Not convinced, Saal's skepticism was quickly replaced with wariness when he saw the beautiful pink skinned woman who had appeared as a dancer earlier approach him with a plate.

-

Peter had to bite down on his tongue to keep from laughing as the Centurion eyed the gorgeous woman as if she was an assassin.  
This was guaranteed to be entertaining!

When the dancer lowered the plate and gracefully sank down to sit next to Saal, the Ravager saw the muscle twitch in his jaw as a screaming sign of unease.

Even if he lived to be a hundred years, Peter would never understand the prude ways of people like Saal! What was there to be uncomfortable about when a pretty little thing like that sat next to you?

Clearly there was something, as the dark haired man went for more liquid courage from his wine glass.

The girl he'd spoken to had reassured Peter that there was nothing unnatural about the stuff being served that evening, no pheromones or drugs of any kind. She said it was all in the matter of 'how' it was being served and pretty soon he was seeing what she had been talking about.

The dancer next to Saal began by hand-feeding him some odd looking fruits, which clearly tasted very good based on the man's facial expression.

It got a bit more amusing when she announced that the next dish was best served at skin temperature and the Centurion was expected to claim the food she daintily placed in the cleavage between her generous beasts. 

Peter bit his lip to keep from laughing at the startled look Saal sent his way, but the man quickly realized he was on his own and moved to retrieve the food with nothing but a sullen look and his mouth.  
Using herself as a plate, the dancer kept picking up treats and placing them on strategic places on herself, luckily nothing too lewd, but Peter was relieved to see that Saal was having less and less trouble with the ordeal of fetching them.

Whether it was the wine or him simply getting used to the evening's way of entertainment was hard to tell, but the Centurion even shared a faint smile with the dancer.

At that point, Peter almost began rubbing his hands together with glee. The dream of 'rich guy, his bodyguard and the dancer' seemed a step closer and not as impossible as before.

It was only later when the woman took a swig of the wine and proceeded to lock lips with Saal to transfer the liquid that the smile grew a little tense on Peter.

For one thing, Saal didn't really look his way anymore. The man was completely loose-limbed and at ease with the situation now, including the dancer practically straddling his lap. He even placed a hand to her scantily clad hip to support her.

Peter also noted Saal's other hand sliding up behind her neck, fingers gently digging into her thick hair, and something curled tight inside his stomach.

Instead of admiring the beautiful sight, they were two fine people after all, the Ravager found himself wondering if Saal wasn't a little TOO into it?

He recognized several of the squirming moves the dancer proceeded to use against Saal, Peter had received his fair share of lap dances after all, and then his throat tightened as he noticed the hitch in the Centurion's breathing during one of the hip moves.

So what, though? Peter could make him do that too. And louder!

Starlord reminded himself that it was all in the name of the mission, but he just couldn't help clenching his jaw and balling his hands into fists until he was in physical pain.  
It took every ounce of his willpower to keep from reaching out and yanking the dancer away.

(And possibly punch Saal in the face. What the hell was he thinking? He was totally over-doing it and he should never have taken a single sip of that damn wine again!)

By the time Saal and Hollend were both exchanging grins and clearly happy with the evening's events, Peter couldn't take it anymore.  
He cleared his throat and leaned slightly towards his partner. "Uh, Sir, maybe it is time to call it a night? You have a really busy schedule tomorrow."

Saal gave a little laugh at something Hollend said before waving an absent hand in Starlord's general direction. "It's okay, Jason. You go. Me and Hollend here are gonna take the party and these lovely ladies back to his room."

-

Peter didn't really believe his own ears. He was positive that he'd heard wrong, but then the blond guffawed his smugness at the prospect and Saal merely waved him away again.  
"You retire to the room. I'll be back... when I get back," Saal slurred, making the other man laugh again.

Hesitating, Peter was both furious and confused, but there was little he could do.

Act against orders and the guards might get suspicious and they did NOT need that in addition to Saal's drunken idiocy.  
So he was forced to simply clench his jaw again, bow like the damn servant he was pretending to be, and head back to their room alone.  
He had been pacing the floor ever since.

The thought of Saal with that woman made him angry beyond reason. The thought of Hollend even touching Saal made him homicidal.

Peter Quill had never been of the jealous kind. He always thought more was better and three was a party, not a crowd. Granted, he'd not liked Saal being chatted up by that Captain guy, but this was even worse!  
The mental image of Saal kissing that thrice damned dancer flashed inside his head and Peter growled.

After this, no one would ever be allowed to touch HIS Saal again. Never! 

It didn't matter if they were offered all of the treasures in the galaxy, Peter would never share again!

But all he could do now was wait.  
Wait and stare at the door.

It was almost morning before the door opened and the familiar figure came stumbling in.

Peter jumped up from where he had been drowsing in a chair. 

Saal seemed half-asleep, his hair sticking up at all angles, and he managed to shuffle over to the table by pure luck.

Torn between anger and concern, Peter crossed his arms and sent him a narrow-eyed look. "Morning."

Lifting a hand briefly in a greeting, Saal seemed more preoccupied with studying the map laid out on the table. He groped for a pen, missed twice, got it on third attempt and made several squiggly notes on the map.

Peter didn't even have to step closer to smell the aroma of wine coming off the other man. "Have a nice night?"

Saal merely mumbled something undecipherable, dropped the pen and began shuffling towards bed.

It took no small amount of willpower for Peter to keep himself from stalking over and yanking him around to face him. Instead he waited and watched as the Centurion more or less fell face first into bed.  
A few seconds later, he was snoring.

Still angry, but knowing it would be hopeless to get any answers at the moment, Peter sat down in his chair again and lingered somewhere between asleep and not for a long time.  
Eventually he woke up, neck and back aching, and sent Saal a sour look before heading for the shower.

The hot steam helped wake him up, scrubbed out the fog behind his eyes and kick-started his brain.

While Peter was still tempted to kick-start Saal as well, physically, he knew there was little to gain from it. What was done was done and now it was more a matter of damage control.

Starlord had more than once hinted at Saal to be less prudish and consider inviting another person to the sheet party, but if he thought he'd found someone who could make him feel better or feel more than Peter; the Centurion would soon be taught otherwise.

Also, due to last night, Starlord had an odd feeling that even if he'd been invited along for the after-party with the dancers and Hollend, he'd been too busy slapping their hands off HIS Garthan to remotely enjoy the occasion.

No, sharing was not an option anymore.

And revenge would be sweet...


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dear gods, his head was killing him! 
> 
> Saal considered whether vomiting on Peter might encourage him to be quiet...
> 
> He felt like he'd battled the entire Kree race by himself. He just needed to sleep a couple of years and then he'd be fine. Maybe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for this slightly shorter chapter. (But, hey, a fast-ish update!) I never meant to have an entire chapter dedicated to Peter's jealousy, but it just kept growing! It took on a life of its own! I promise things will kick more into gear in the next chapter!

Exiting the bathroom, planning to head out alone and do a little scouting while 'some people' slept on, Peter got as far as half way to the door when someone was knocking on it.

Pausing, he hesitated for a few seconds.

Who could it be? Trouble wouldn't be knocking, would it? Then again, it was probably considered rude in this scenery not to knock before you dragged people off to be shot for infiltrating a Lotus club.

Saal didn't even react to the sound.

Peter snapped out of his thoughts at the second, slightly impatient, knock. and headed towards the door. He would just have to handle it.

Outside the man who had greeted them upon their landing on this cursed place was waiting with a tight smile. "Greetings."

Starlord gave a little nod. "What's up?"

Frowning, the man seemed a little unsettled by Peter's informal behavior, but he quickly rallied. "May I speak to Sir Elji?"

"He's, uh, unavailable at the moment."

Now the man sighed, clearly annoyed. "I have an important message for him."

Peter glued on his most irritating smile. "I'll deliver it for you."

Predictably it made the man even more annoyed. "My master, Sir Kvist, requires his presence and would be honored if he was to join him shortly."

  
Oh shit...

  
Peter's brain scrambled for an excuse. "What? Now?"

The man was clearly enjoying having the upper hand in the conversation at the moment. "If that would be convenient." He pulled out a small book from his jacket and leafed through some pages with dramatic flair. "My master is a very busy man. I'm sure you understand."

"Yeah, uh," Peter shifted his weight uneasily, "it's just that... We're going to need some time."

Instantly suspicious, the man's eyes narrowed and his mouth became a thin line. "Is there a problem...?"

Deciding to just go for it, Peter pulled the door fully open and nodded towards the right of the room.

The man leaned forward and peeked inside.  
Upon seeing Saal face down in the bed, one boot on and one off, clothes in complete disarray, the man then straightened and made an understanding face. "Ah."

It was clearly a sight he'd seen many times before.

"Yeah," Peter confirmed.

Clearing his throat, the man opened his book again and leafed through it to find the relevant page. "How about... two hours from now? There is an opening in the schedule in two hours. Would that work?"

Relieved, Peter nodded. "Sure. Thanks."

Jotting down Saal's name, the fake name, on a line, the man then closed the book and slid it into his pocket again. "Think nothing of it. Happens all the time."  
He turned to leave and just as Peter was about to shut the door, added, "I shall have some Nyquo sent to the room."

Peter had no idea what that was. "Great. Awesome. Thanks."

Finally shutting the door, the Ravager leaned against it and closed his eyes with a heaving sigh.

That was close. Too close!

And now he had two hours to wake the dead and prepare him to meet a paranoid and homicidal thug.

Sure. No problem. What could possibly go wrong?

Pushing himself off the door, Peter stalked towards the bed and kicked the frame hard. "Hey. Wake up. Rise and shine!"

-

First the world shook, along with a sharp sound, then Peter's voice was talking.  
Talking way too loud!

Saal tried to tell him to shut up, but it came out as an incomprehensible grunt and he tried to burrow further into the bed.

Dear gods, his head was killing him!

The shouting and shaking continued.

Saal considered whether vomiting on Peter might encourage him to be quiet...

He felt like he'd battled the entire Kree race by himself. He just needed to sleep a couple of years and then he'd be fine. Maybe.

"Dammit, Saal," Peter snapped.  
A hand grabbed the Centurion's shoulder and he was flipped over on his back.

Saal made a complaining gurgle, automatically placing his hands flat down on the mattress in an effort to make it stop spinning.

"Something's come up, Saal. Wake up!"

It took no small amount of effort to open one eye, a mere glitch, and Saal regretted it immediately.  
It felt like someone rammed knives into his brain.

"No, don't you close your eyes on me again. You need to wake up. I'm serious, Saal!"

Unfortunately even Saal's groggy brain managed to register that Peter did indeed sound serious.  
He dared to release the mattress with one hand, lifting it to rub his face before forcing his eyes open to stare blearily at the Terran. "What?" he croaked.

Peter was looking both uneasy and annoyed. "We just had a visitor. Guess what? Kvist wants to see you."

The wheels were turning unusually slow inside Saal's head and it took him a full three seconds to remember who the hell Kvist was. "Oh."

"Yeah," Peter snapped. "Oh."  
The Ravager waved a hand at him. "So you need to get your ass out of bed. Take a shower. Get ready. Meeting is in two hours and something tells me you're gonna need that time to wake the hell up."

Nodding, he couldn't really disagree with that, Saal rubbed his face again, hoping the mattress would stop swinging from side to side long enough for him to actually get out of bed. "D'say what he wanted?"

"No, "Peter replied, rather tartly. "But I'm guessing you shouldn't be late."

Picking up on the sour tone, Saal was just too tired to deal with it at the moment.  
After all, it had been Peter's idea to play the servant. He couldn't then pull the sulking card because he wasn't invited to the party when it was for rich people only.

A waft of perfume rose from Saal's shirt and his stomach rolled.

A shower was starting to sound pretty good.  
Peter's lament over missing out on the action would just have to wait.

Struggling to his feet, the Centurion felt a flicker of irritation as the other man merely stood and watched with suspiciously narrow eyes.

He wanted to act like a man-child again?  
Fine, they could both play that game!  
Saal did not have the patience for Peter's drama right now. His head was throbbing, his body felt incredibly heavy and his stomach kept doing acrobatic flips.

It was a relief when he managed to shuffle out to the bathroom and close the door on the glare he felt following him.

It was like entering heaven once he'd shed his clothes and let warm water wash over him.

Slowly his brain started functioning again and questions started emerging.

What did Kvist want?

Why now?

Did he know the truth...?

-

When it knocked on the door, Peter opened it to find a servant outside with breakfast.

Waving her inside, he walked over to the table and sullenly pushed off all the papers to clear it in one movement.  
Watching the mess it created, Peter felt a little better knowing Saal would hate it.

The servant unloaded all sorts of glorious food, but also a can of the Nyquo-stuff the other man had mentioned.

Peter sniffed the black liquid. "So, uh, what does this do?"  
He might be more than a little pissed off at Saal, but he still didn't want to poison him.

The servant sent him a careful smile. "It's, ah, it's very good for days after... wine."

Hangover remedy. Of course.

Managing a smile in return, Peter thanked her and sent her off on her way.

He only considered hiding the Nyquo for a second or two.

When His Highness finally deigned to exit the bathroom, Peter tried to shelf his resentment a little.  
After all, they had a mission to complete.

The shower had revived Saal somewhat, even if he was a little paler than usual, and he had changed into grey pants and a white shirt.  
"Not sure if I can actually eat anything," the Centurion said in a weak voice, sinking down on the chair next to the breakfast table.

Peter felt a flicker of smug satisfaction as he noted the quick glance Saal sent the scattered paper on the floor and the annoyed frown that followed.  
"You should try eating, at least. Oh, and they said this black stuff helps against hangovers."

Saal poured a cup of the Nyquo and smelled it. "So what's the plan?"

Peter shrugged, leaning casually against the table while crossing his arms. "See what he wants, I guess."

They ate in silence for a while, Saal nibbling a bit on dry bread and Peter snatching up random items from the different dishes, and it was the Centurion who spoke first.  
"Do you think he knows?"

The quiet worry in his voice made Peter soften a little. "Doubt it." He tried a reassuring smile. "Like I said before, if he knew, he would have just shot us."

Saal nodded, still looking concerned.

"Hey," Peter called for his attention, "the man is paranoid. You're someone new here, it's in his nature to check you out. It doesn't have to mean anything."

"But it could also be a trap."

Peter gave a reluctant nod. "Yeees..." he drawled, "that's not completely impossible. I'm not saying you shouldn't be alert, ready for shit to go down, but I doubt he would go to this kind of trouble when he could just have his goons off us. The man's got a busy schedule."

Saal glanced back down at his plate with a sigh. "So, be ready for trouble, but prepare to maintain cover intact?"

Grinning, Peter made a sloppy salute. "Yes, sir. Correct, sir."

That managed to lure a faint smile from the Centurion and a softly murmured, "idiot."

They eventually finished their breakfast and while the Nyquo was starting to ease the discomfort of too much wine, they also went over Saal's cover story.  
Peter realized all the studying Saal had done before this mission might not have been wasted time after all. He remember Elji's story better than Peter remembered his own!

When the time came to leave the room, the Ravager could see Saal pull on the personality of Elji as well. He realized he didn't like how the corners of Saal's mouth would turn slightly downwards, the frown marring his features, the cranky lines. It reminded him far too much of the man he'd seen with the dancer last night.

Walking towards the door, Saal was not prepared for Peter yanking him around, pushing him against it and silencing the question on his lips with a hard kiss. A brief flailing of arms followed, tense shoulders and scrambling feet, then the Centurion relaxed and even opened up to the invasion of his mouth.

"What was that?" Saal asked, slightly breathless, when Peter finally pulled back to admire the sight.

"A reminder," Peter replied, savoring the unguarded look on the other man.

-

Saal didn't get the chance to ask what it was supposed to remind him off as Peter merely tugged him forward to open the door and Kvist's servant was already waiting outside.  
Forcing himself into Elji mode, Saal cleared his throat and put on his neutral/pissed off face again. "Right, let's get this over with," he said, feigning indifference.

"This way," the servant said, leading the way.

Saal and Peter exchanged looks a final time before they followed.

This time no guards tried to stop them when they entered the high security area.  
Saal tried to note which codes were punched in the different locks on the doors they had to go through and where each camera could be found. A discrete glance at his 'servant' revealed that Peter was doing the same thing.

Finally they arrived at two huge doors at the end of a corridor, golden and overly decorated, and the servant declared they were here.

The doors opened to Kvist's office and Saal hoped his apprehension about this didn't show on his face as they entered the room.  
Like the doors, the room was also mostly covered in gold and over the top decorations. Much like the rest of the club, it was meant to show just how much money Kvist had, Saal mused. Here was someone who wasn't happy about being rich unless everyone and their mother knew just how rich he was.

The man himself was seated behind a massive desk and rose to his feet when they entered. "Sir Elji. At last."

Saal forced a tight smile. "The pleasure is all mine."

Kvist had dark hair, like Saal, but close to black eyes instead of green and nowhere near his height. He moved with the ease of someone who stayed in shape, but displayed no bulging muscles, dressed in a dark grey suit which probably cost more than the planet itself.

The man made Saal's skin crawl with unease.

Motioning for Saal to take a seat in one of the luxurious chairs in front of his desk, Kvist cast a quick and sharp glance at Peter who took up hovering position slightly behind his 'master's seat.

"So," Saal began, leaning back and lazily crossing a leg over the other, "to what do I owe this honor? I hear it's not quite common to be summoned to your presence on ones first visit here."

Kvist sat down as well, smiling like a snake. "I confess, I am curious."

Saal raised his eyebrows in an unspoken suggestion for him to elaborate.

"At first I was slightly wary of your presence," Kvist admitted with only the faintest effort at an apologetic smile, "mainly because I had not heard of you before and I take my guests' privacy very seriously. Too many try to worm their way into my clubs to get to my guests, you see."

Saal didn't reply.

"Your name and bloodline seemed genuine enough, but you understand that I have to take my precautions?" Kvist leaned back and folded his hands over his stomach. "I hear you had fun last night?"

Saal frowned, but remained quiet. No man of good breeding would respond well to have his motives questioned and he had a role to play.

"Did the Nyquo help?"

"Yes," the Centurion said in a flat tone, "thank you."

Kvist nodded, clearly trying to read Saal and failing. He was silent for a few moments before he suddenly gestured with his hand. "What happened to your face? I see no mentioning of an injury in your history."

This time Saal didn't have to fake anger or having his feathers ruffled.

-

Peter tensed up, standing just behind Saal's left shoulder.  
Even as a Ravager, he knew that was one rude question for a high class guy. And one bound to provoke the Centurion!

He glanced over, seeing the tension in Saal's shoulders and how the man clenched his jaw.  
Should he interrupt?

Before Peter got the chance, Saal spoke.

"She said the child was mine. I told her the bastard child wasn't. She resented the decision."

The Centurion's voice was harder and colder than Peter had ever heard him be before and he was a little shocked at the story he'd chosen as a cover. It was such a lowly act that it had to burn Saal to even pretend to have actually done it.

Kvist stared at him, then a slow smile appeared and he ducked his head a little with an apologetic wave of his hand. "Apologies. That was unforgivably rude of me." He grinned again. "I have to make sure, you know. Security is everything in the Lotus Club. Which is why, I'm certain, that you chose to visit us, yes?"

Saal didn't reply, merely gave a little shrug, still tense and more than a little offended.

"Come now," Kvist laughed, getting up and wandering over to a small table by a window. "Let me make it up to you. This first visit will be on the house. No charge." He poured himself a glass of something, held it up in a offering to Saal and kept it for himself when the Centurion shook his head.

"No charge," Saal said as the other man sat down again, sipping his drink. "That's awfully magnanimous of you."

Kvist smirked. "I do have manners, you know."

Peter realized that while the story Saal had given him probably stuck in his craw, just the idea of doing something that low, it also gave a plausible explanation as to why Elji's injuries had been downplayed.  
Bad enough to be scarred, but from a paternal dispute? Injuries to both face and honor. At least the latter could be saved by bribery.

What followed was an overly polite conversation, which Peter easily saw through as more testing from Kvist about Elji's past and relatives, but the Centurion sailed through it and pretended not to notice.  
Peter even got so relaxed that he allowed himself to scan the room for a bit, looking for where hidden safes could be and where would it be most likely for Kvist to hide the gemstone?

Starlord was willing to bet the Milano on the safest bet would be behind the massive self-portrait Kvist had on the left side of the room.

Now all they had to do was find a way to get to the heavily guarded secure area, then break into Kvist's office and open a safe that 'might' contain the gemstone. Easy peasy. And after that, Peter was free to get Saal off this damned planet and away from this cheesy rich-people club with groping dancers!

Peter felt his jaw clenching and forced himself to relax.

As much as he resented what had happened, there was no way to undo it.

He had to let it go and focus on the mission.

Forcing himself back to scanning for hints about the gemstone's whereabouts, Peter was almost startled when the other two men stood up.

Judging by the phrases, their visit was apparently over and it was time to leave, which was more than okay by Starlord.

He was actually feeling a tiny bit more optimistic as they were leaving the room. They had gotten unscathed through the visit with Mr Paranoid himself, gotten clues where to search for the stone and they were back on track with the mission, no more distractions!

His resolve lasted until they entered the hallway and found themselves in the company of several servants heading for the common area, where one of them was of course that damned dancer Saal had spent the night with.

She sent the Centurion a smile and Peter's blood boiled when he saw the sheepish smile Saal gave her in return.

Oh hell no if Starlord was going to let this go!


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Confused, Saal sent the guards nearby a discrete glance and took a step closer to the Terran. "Stuff? What stuff? Shouldn't we talk?" He stared meaningfully at him. They had gained a whole lot of information about the layout of the place and he was certain Peter had more than a few ideas about where to look for the gemstone. What could possibly be so important?
> 
> "No, uh, you go and we'll talk later," Peter mumbled, shifting his weight uneasily.

Saal was a little surprised when Peter told him to go ahead when they reached their room. 

"Stuff," Peter explained, refusing to look at him for more than a few seconds. "I got some stuff to do."

Confused, Saal sent the guards nearby a discrete glance and took a step closer to the Terran. "Stuff? What stuff? Shouldn't we talk?" He stared meaningfully at him. They had gained a whole lot of information about the layout of the place and he was certain Peter had more than a few ideas about where to look for the gemstone. What could possibly be so important?

"No, uh, you go and we'll talk later," Peter mumbled, shifting his weight uneasily.

Still confused but unable to do anything about it in fear of drawing attention, Saal nodded and slowly moved over to their room.

He watched as the Ravager walked down the hall, quickly joined by another servant aiming to keep an eye on him, hesitating until he couldn't see them anymore before entering the safety of their room.  
Sighing, he paused after shutting the door behind himself, wondering why Peter had suddenly run off, then shook his head and went over to gather up the papers the Ravager had scattered on the floor earlier.  
There was no point in wondering. If Peter wanted him to know, he would know eventually, and if not, then Saal trusted him to have his secrets.

He spent the solitude noting down the information he could remember from their excursion to Kvist's office and was pondering different ways of entering the area for a long while until the door opened and Peter finally joined him.  
Putting down the pen he'd been tapping against his lips, Saal turned to face him. "Hey, there you are."

Peter merely gave him a somewhat distracted nod, busy heading over to pull out a chair from the table and gestured to it. "Sit."

Saal blinked confused. "What?"

The Ravager waved an impatient hand. "Come on. Sit. I want to try something."

"Peter," Saal began, moving over to the chair despite having no idea what had gotten into the other man, "what's going on? Where did you disappear to?"

Instead of answering, Peter circled to stand behind Saal and he was a little surprised to feel him guide his left hand behind his back.

It was years of upholding the law and instinct which told Saal what the click was, but he was so startled by the feeling of iron around his wrist that he didn't react quick enough to prevent Peter from pulling back his other hand and trapping his other wrist as well.

A light tug confirmed what the Centurion already knew; handcuffs.

Unsettled but not overly concerned, Saal eyed the other man warily. "You've finally gone bonkers, haven't you? What's the meaning of this?"

Peter shrugged. "They said these were power-absorbing cuffs. Custom made for the rowdier customers." He moved to stand in front of Saal with a thoughtful look. "I'm guessing you could probably break them if you go Omega, but other people would have trouble getting out of these babies."

Saal shifted uneasily on the chair, automatically tugging at the cuffs again. "You're planning on cuffing Kvist? How are you even going to get close enough to get them on?"  
He'd used enough handcuffs on his prisoners to recognize the strength in the ones he was currently wearing and he knew Peter was right; getting out of these would be a challenge.

Peter smirked. "Who said they were for him?"

"But," Saal began, "why..."

Peter's smile grew wider.

-

Taking the Centurion's face gently between his hands, Peter leaned down to steal a slow, deep, complicated, alluring and intoxicating kiss. Then he leaned back to observe.

Saal's expression went from confused to surprised to a mix between embarrassed and curious. He cleared his throat in an effort to regain his composure and sent Peter a dry look. "Handcuffs, Peter? Really? Now? And do I even want to know how long you've been harboring this fantasy?"

Peter made a thoughtful hum, moving over to bush his lips by Saal's neck. "Since I saw you break the bedhead in that hotel."

Saal squirmed under the touch, his neck always his weak spot, and fought to remain the sensible one. "Peter, listen," he closed his eyes briefly when Starlord shifted over to kiss the other side of his neck as well, "we don't have time for..."

Deciding that Saal was far to coherent for what he wanted to achieve, Peter straddled his lap and claimed his lips, drawing him into slow and sensual kisses while his hands carded though the black hair and cradled his head.

It worked like a charm.

When he pulled back, Peter found the other man hazy eyed and struggling to remember what he'd been saying.  
Awesome.

After that it was only a matter of more kisses, roaming hands and rolling hips and Peter was soon rewarded with the clatter of Saal forgetting about the handcuffs and trying to reach for him.

He waited until he heard a frustrated huff from the man before Peter moved to whisper in his ear, "I bet it didn't feel this good with her, huh?"

"What...?" Saal shifted restlessly, trying to get some friction to ease a little of the want starting to verge on demanding. "What are you talking about?"

Grinding his hips down, Peter sneered a smile at the half choked sound emerging from the Centurion's throat. "Her. That dancer. The one you fucked last night. I bet she didn't turn you on like this, even if I could smell her perfume all over you."

Saal blinked, brain dulled by lust, and he tugged at the handcuffs again due to an instinctive urge to reach for him. "Peter, no."

Relieved, Starlord rewarded him with a couple of deep kisses, and tried to tell himself that he'd known all along.  
Of course she wasn't better than Peter. Of course Saal would prefer him to her. Of course.

"Peter," Saal breathed against his lips while the Ravager undid the buttons on Saal's shirt. "Peter, I didn't know that you would mind..."

He didn't want to hear, didn't want to know. What was done was done, he meant that, and now that he knew Saal wouldn't be pining after her or consider Peter as a second prize, Starlord just wanted to pretend it had never happened.

He silenced him with more kisses, sliding his hand inside the now open shirt to the warm skin and hard planes underneath it, trying to get lost in the feeling of it all.

Peter's unoccupied hand went up to slide through Saal's hair again, noting the silky feel of it compared to his own wavy unruly mess, before letting it move down the tense neck and anchor itself there.  
Every now and then, especially when Starlord's fingers found sensitive spots, there would be the clatter of the handcuffs restraining the Centurion from reaching out for him.

Saal's mouth gave as got as he got and his body arched and squirmed under Peter's manipulations, but there was no mistaking the growing frustration of being denied his touch.

Peter couldn't help a faint grin tainting his kisses, deciding it was the perfect punishment for the previous night.

-

It was incredibly frustrating to have Peter near, to feel him move against him, the caresses, and not being able to reach out and touch him.

A distant voice at the back of his mind tried to remind Saal there was something else they should be doing and something he needed to correct Peter on, but it drowned in the sensations and the want.  
He spread his thighs a little more, shifted restlessly, lifted his hips up off the chair in an effort to ease the want with some friction, but Peter merely kept touching, kissing and moving just out of contact.

When a frustrated sound escapes Garthan's lips, the Terran suddenly straightened and got to his feet to stand in front of him.

The Centurion stared up at him, partially relieved and a bigger part worried that he'd stop, ragged breathing caught in his throat when Peter smirked and smoothly pulled his own shirt off.

The handcuffs rattled again, but Saal didn't hear them.

He could only focus on Peter, the skin he wanted to, no, needed to touch, kiss, taste, bite...

Saal's strained breathing stopped altogether when the Ravager followed up by stepping out of his pants as well.

It was too much and nowhere near enough at the same time.

And just when he thought the torture, because this was pure torture, couldn't result in his pants becoming any more uncomfortable, Saal was proven wrong when Peter kneeled down between his legs and drew his hands up towards where he so desperately wanted them.

Of course the sadist stopped before he 'actually' touched him and Saal growled with frustration.

It made Peter grin even wider.  
Bloody sadist indeed.

The handcuffs rattled once more and Saal almost whined. "Peter, please..."

He didn't care that he probably sounded desperate, there was no hiding how much he wanted the Terran, why try to pretend otherwise?

For whatever reason, his plea seemed to work. Saal closed his eyes tight and exhaled up towards the ceiling when Peter's clever fingers opened his pants and made him choke on air when they wrapped around his cock.  
Saal couldn't prevent his hips from bucking up into the touch.

Still smirking, the Ravager glanced up with a confidence that would be revolting if Saal didn't find it so damn arousing at the time.

The touch, which the Centurion had longed for, suddenly seemed more like a curse than a relief when it was gentle enough to tease but too gentle to be anything but a tease.

"For fuck's sake!" Saal snarled, tugging at the cuffs when they didn't budge. "Peter...!"

The man was enjoying watching him suffer, that much was clear, but it was pretty obvious that Peter was more than a little turned on as well.

Saal was completely unprepared for Peter suddenly releasing his grip on him, straightening and sauntering off!  
Considering how all the blood which was meant to wet his brain had set up camp below his waistline, it took the dark haired man a full five seconds to react.  
Shifting restlessly on the chair and really tugging at the handcuffs, Saal only calmed when the damn man was suddenly by his side again.

"Easy there, big boy," Peter murmured, a laugh tainting his words.

Saal glared up at him.

"I just forgot this," the Ravager sing-sang, dangling a familiar sight from two fingers.

Fingers were soon slippery and warm from what he'd fetched and it made his grip around Saal even better.

This time Saal groaned out loud at the sensation, unable to keep his eyes open. He only set his eyes on Peter again when the fingers disappeared once more and then nearly died when he saw Peter reach behind himself.  
His own touch made the Ravager shudder, but Saal could see it wasn't enough.

Licking his lips, Saal stuck his chin out a little. "Peter... Let me do that..."

The Terran didn't reply, didn't stop, but hazy eyes focused on him.

"Come on," Saal tempted, "you know I can do better than that. You know I got what you want. I can make you feel a whole lot more. Get these bloody cuffs off and I'll give it to you. Peter..."

-

Peter almost gave in.

Saal was right. His own touch was nowhere near enough. 

And, wow, the Centurion looked dangerously good at the moment.  
Saal's shirt was open, about to slide off his shoulders, his pants were open and had inched down on his hips as a consequence of his constant shifting on the chair. His face was slightly flushed, his skin damp and his chest was heaving with every ragged breath.

It took no small amount of willpower and the memory of a certain dancer girl to steel himself against the words and remember his mission.

Realizing he wasn't going to be freed, Saal huffed with frustration and yanked at the cuffs yet again.

The huffing and the muttered curses only stopped when Peter decided he'd prepared enough and straddled Saal's lap once more.  
Strangely quiet, the Centurion stared up at him with what seemed like black eyes.

"See?" Peter whispered, reaching down to hold Saal's cock steady with one hand, "I bet she couldn't get you this hard." He sank down on him, shuddering with satisfaction at the sensation of the invasion. "I bet... she didn't feel this good..."

Saal merely groaned, hiding his face to Peter's neck.

Cradling one hand behind Saal's neck, Starlord freed his other hand to seat himself fully on the man's lap and locking his thighs by the soldier's waist.

Sweet mercy, he could almost feel Saal's pulse thumping along with his own.

Swallowing hard, Peter fought to regain his voice. "Just in case you get the idea... to replace me..." He raised his hips, heard the clatter of handcuffs, and sank back down. "No one will ever... be like me..."

Saal hissed a couple of unfamiliar curse words against Starlord's skin. "I didn't..."

Peter raised himself and sank back down again, feeling the hot waves up his spine from the stimulation. "Didn't what?" He murmured almost absently, fighting to keep moving despite how his entire body just wanted to freeze and tremble with anticipation of the oncoming release.

"I didn't shag her!" Saal ground out, lifting his hips when Peter sank back down, clearly too slow for his liking. 

Before Peter's brain could really process what he'd heard, there was a loud snap and suddenly Saal's hands were cupping his face and pulling him into a greedy kiss.  
A kiss and then the world moved.

Only when his back hit the surface rather harshly did Starlord realize that Saal had broken free from the cuffs, picked him up and he was now on his back on the table with his legs around the Centurion.

"Wait, wait," Peter gasped, tightening his legs around the man's lower back and placing one hand to Saal's shoulder. "What did you say?"

"I said," Saal panted, "that I didn't shag her. I promised you not to bed others, didn't I?"

"Yeah, but..." Starlord had to pause briefly thanks to his body screaming for them to have this conversation later, preferably after an orgasm or two. "We're on a mission... And people don't usually..."

He didn't finish the line, didn't have to for Saal to know what he meant.  
Peter wasn't used to people keeping their promise made to a lowly Ravager.

"Well, I do," Saal murmured, "and I don't care about the circumstances. A promise is a promise." 

It was naive, it was childish, unpractical and the most beautiful thing Peter had ever heard.

Tugging Saal closer, pushing his hips up against him, hiding a smile to the soldier's neck, Peter let his tongue touch skin. "Come on then, big boy. Show me what you're made of."

Seconds later he was being fucked to within an inch of his life and it was fucking perfect.

It was difficult to tell which of them came first, but Peter was pretty sure he was the louder one!

-

Shedding his already half-undressed state and getting both himself and Peter clean and over to the bed felt like a gargantuan task once the adrenaline had left him, but Saal managed somehow.  
He was drowsing, lying on his back on the bed, when Peter, lounging at a slight angle and using Saal's chest as a prop-up pillow, absently toying with the fingers on Saal's left hand, spoke and broke the silence.

"So if you didn't sleep with her, what did you do there all night?"

Saal snorted a faint laugh. "Not having any fun, I assure you." He used his right hand to draw his fingers through Peter's unruly hair. "Once we got to the room, I had some more wine before I pretended to pass out."

"Pass out?"

"Precisely." Saal made a face. "I cannot stress enough how uncomfortable it is to pretend to be asleep while there is basically a porn film being made in the same room."

Peter laughed. "Sounds more like the recipe for an awesome night, if you ask me."

"Why am I not surprised?" Saal drawled. "Now, once they were done with their... activities, I had to wait forever for them to pass out as well and then I was free to roam around for a bit."

"And what was the result of the roaming?"

"Can't really remember," Saal admitted. "Which is why I'm glad I made damn sure to jot everything down on the map when I got back to the room. Cameras, guards, blind spots, so on."

"Because you knew it was the only way to get access to the secure area," Peter mumbled, sounding more like he was talking to himself.

"Affirmative," Saal said. 

There was another brief period of silence and Peter was once again the one to break it.  
He lifted Saal's hand a little and made a thoughtful sound. "I can't believe you actually broke them..."

Glancing over, Saal saw the evidence still around his wrist. "Ah. Well. That's..."

Peter tugged a little on the metal locked around the wrist, the short chain links meant to tie the cuffs together dangling and tickling by Saal's pulse. "I mean, dude, they said these babies could, like, restrain Ronan!"

Biting down on the urge to point out that Ronan would have broken free too if he'd had a naked Peter on his lap, Saal forced his voice even. "I'm sure they were exaggerating."

Peter drew his fingertips over the bruised skin around the wrist. "Doubt it. Hey, you can heal these, right?"

"Of course I can," Saal replied. "I just don't waste Nova Force on healing such minor details."

Nodding, Peter then twisted a little to peer up at him. "Gotta admit, dude, you snapping these super-cuffs? Kinda hot."

Embarrassed and flattered, Saal gave a soft laugh and turned his face away. "Shut up."

Peter laughed as well, settling again to continue his exploration of the handcuff and the Centurion's wrist.

"You know," Saal began, "we could avoid misunderstandings like these all together if you would just talk to me instead of assuming and acting."

Shrugging, Peter turned Saal's hand between his and began trailing the lines on his palm. 

"Hey," Saal carefully closed his hand around Peter's, "I wouldn't lie to you. And I keep my promises to you. Always."

Peter twisted to glance up at him again, for once serious. "I know."

"And I expect the same from you."

That actually brought something looking dangerously much like a happy smile to the Terran's face.  
"Okay," Peter replied.

"Okay," Saal sealed the deal with a faint nod. He then slumped back against the pillow and stared at the ceiling. "Now what...?"

"Now," the Ravager murmured, squirming over on his stomach and placing kisses on Saal's chest, "we find the damn gemstone and get the fuck off this planet."

"Excellent plan," Saal ground out when the hot mouth closed over his nipple. "How do you suggest we execute it?"

Peter glanced up at him and grinned. "I have no idea."

-

They made a makeshift nest on the bed consisting of twisted sheets, food, water and the blueprints of the Lotus club with all their notes on the security.

Starlord was dividing his attention between eating, drinking, listening to Saal's plotting and covering his skin with his hands and kisses.  
Even if the man hadn't slept with the dancer, Peter still couldn't fight the urge to reclaim every bit that she might have touched or kissed herself.

"The trouble is the restricted area," Saal mused, absently tilting his head to bare his neck while Peter drew kisses along it. "This door... Only opens from the inside. We have to consider another way in."

"Roof?" Peter suggested, putting his mouth over Saal's pulse and sucking on the skin.

The Centurion drew a shivering breath. "Going to be tough, but I don't see any other option..."

Peter made a thoughtful hum, moving up to place a teasing bite to Saal's jawline. "Not unless someone opens it for us."

That brought an amused snort from the soldier. "Should I ask the dancer?"

Growling, Peter slid over to straddle his lap. "Really funny, lawman."  
He then proceeded to kiss the damn smile off Saal's lips.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door.

Exchanging a puzzled look with Saal, Peter got out of the bed and pulled on some clothes while the Centurion hid the maps.  
He waited for Saal to pull on some pants and a t-shirt as well before opening the door on the second knock.  
"Yeah, what?"

The already sleazy smile on Hollend's face widened at the sight of Peter. "I was hoping to speak to Sir Elji. I hope I'm not interrupting anything... important?"

Peter drew a hand through his hair, cleared his throat and reminded himself that he was supposed to be a polite slave and not the sex god he really was. "Not at all, sir." He cast a quick glance back at the bed, mouthing 'why is he here?', but only got a bewildered shrug from Saal in return. Turning back to Hollend, Peter raised his eyebrows. "So, uh, why do you need to talk to him?"

"It's about tonight's celebration," Hollend said, still smiling.

Saal appeared next to Peter, eyeing the other man warily. "Hollend."

"Elji!" The blond let out a small, conspiring laugh. "I trust you have recovered from our little party last night?"

"It was a rough morning," Saal confessed.

He motioned for Peter to step back and took his place, leaving the Ravager to have to observe in the background. "What can I help you with, Hollend?"

"I wanted to ask you for a favor," Hollend replied. "A favor between friends."

Saal crossed his arms, even more wary. "I'm listening."

"Tonight's celebration is Touch. I would like to borrow Jason."

Peter blinked, prepared for anything but that request. He quickly recovered though, as the man had done little but ogle him since day one.  
He saw the tension building in Saal's shoulders and knew what the response would be.  
"I don't mind," Starlord blurted out before the Centurion could speak.

Hollend looked like he'd just won first prize at something. Saal looked like he'd just swallowed a bug.

"Yeah, I..." Peter glued on a polite smile. "I don't mind." He cautiously moved closer until he was standing next to Saal. "It's only right to repay Mister Hollend's kindness to us."

A muscle twitched in Saal's jaw. "P... Jason, are you... sure?" The glare in his eyes clearly told Peter to tell him he wasn't.

"I'm sure," Peter said, almost laughing at the man's constipated face.

"Well then, that's settled!" Hollend exclaimed happily.

Wandering over to pick up his jacket, Peter only paused briefly by Saal's side. "And, sir, don't forget your appointment in one hour." He grinned slightly at the confused look. "You better be there when the door opens or we'll both be in trouble."

-

After those cryptic words, Peter left with Hollend and Saal was left staring at the door.

Gathering himself through pure strength of will, the Centurion walked back to the bed and dug out the maps from underneath it.  
'When the door opens.' Clearly Peter meant to make his way to the door from the restricted side and open it for Saal, not a bad idea, and leaving with Hollend was also pure payback for Saal spending the night with that blasted dancer.

He trusted the Ravager, but there was absolutely no way Peter could pull this off without Hollend pawing at him. 

The thought made the Nova Force burn under Saal's skin.

Forcing his mind to the task at hand, the Centurion gathered up the evidence of their plotting. He folded up and stuck the important papers into his pockets, the other he threw into the fireplace and lit up.  
It took a little wheedling, but eventually Saal managed to pick the locks of the handcuffs and free himself too.  
After that, it was all a matter of killing time until he was supposed to meet up with Peter again.

Minutes seemed like hours.

When the time finally did come, Saal didn't hesitate and slipped out of the room.

It took some persuasion to keep the guard from following him, but an audience with Kvist and hanging out with Hollend had bought him some credibility and after that it was a matter of dodging people and staying in the camera's blind spots.

It took exactly seven seconds from when he reached the door to it opening.

Peter grinned, but Saal merely stalked by him and would have continued down the corridor if not for the Ravager's hand taking a hold around his wrist.  
Allowing him to pull him to a halt, Saal glanced over at him. "What?"

Peter was still grinning. "Something wrong?"

"You know damn well," Saal grumbled.

Now actually laughing, Peter stepped closer to circle and face him fully. "You got nothing to worry about, man." He reached out and tapped a reassuring hand against Saal's chest. "Seriously, the dude really can't kiss. I mean, ew. Just shoves his tongue in your mouth and lets it lie there like a dead weight."

Saal rolled his eyes and continued his march towards Kvist's office. He really didn't want to hear this.

Peter scrambled to follow him, amiably chatting along the way. "He's not ugly looking, I'll give him that, but come on! Kissing, real kissing, is the foundation of anything hanky panky!"

"Enough," Saal snapped, halting abruptly and glaring over at the Ravager. "I get it, okay? You got your revenge. Happy now?"

"A little," Peter shrugged.

The way to Kvist's office was fairly unrestricted, no guards or cameras as the regular guests paid good money for their privacy after all, and Saal watched as his partner picked the lock on the final door.  
"Do you even have a clue where we should look?" Saal asked.

"Yeah, got an idea or two," Peter mumbled, straightening with triumph as the door slid open. "We start by checking out the paintings. He got a huge self portrait of himself. A guy with an ego like that, my money is on him hiding the goods there."

A quick peek behind the painting did reveal a safe, making Peter mutter something about 'predictable crooks' and started working on opening it.

Saal was nervous, ears picking up every tiny sound, but he forgot all about it when he heard the click and saw the safe swing open. Curious, he moved over and peered into it over Peter's shoulder.  
There it was. A big beautiful gemstone, among other smaller stones and bags of gold and papers probably worth more than all of it put together.

Instinct made Saal catch it when Peter plucked it out and tossed it over to him. He studied it for a few seconds, amazed that all of this trouble was due to this piece of rock, then slid it into his pocket and focused on Peter again. "And now?"

"Now," Peter said, heading for the door, "we get the hell out of here."


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Now," Peter said, heading for the door, "we get the hell out of here."

He managed to take one step out of the office before something that felt like iron wrapped itself around his neck and he was spun around.

"I think not," a voice said.

Peter automatically reached up to grasp at whatever was around his neck and found that it was an arm and he was being yanked back against a firm body.  
Kvist.  
Oh hell no.

Saal took a step forward, startled, but froze when a sharp knife appeared by Peter's throat.

"Don't," Kvist warned, ready to cut if provoked.

Raising his hands in a conciliatory gesture, Saal remained where he was. "Okay. I'm not going to... Just... Take it easy with that, yeah?"

Kvist snorted a laugh. "I knew it! I could tell by the way you were looking at him. Word of advice, Elji, or whoever you are, getting attached to a servant is a very bad idea."

Peter kept eyeing the arm with the knife warily, a trying squirm was met with Kvist yanking him back in place, and the blade was uncomfortably close to his throat.

"I don't take kindly to people stealing from me," Kvist growled, pressing the knife a little harder.  
Feeling a drop of blood trickling down his throat, Peter suddenly decided to keep still.

Saal nodded. "Yeah, I can understand that." His gaze constantly flickered from Peter to Kvist. "But he only did what I told him to. Don't take your righteous anger out on him."

"If you didn't want him hurt, you shouldn't have told him to steal from me," Kvist said.

"My mistake," Saal kept pressing. "My orders. It should be my punishment."

Peter frowned, wanting to ask what the hell the Centurion thought he was doing. 

Kvist mulled it over for a couple of seconds, then stuck his chin out. "You know what? You're absolutely right." He gave a mean smile. "Come over here."

Saal did as ordered and Peter was just about ready to jab an elbow in Kvist to try to break free when he was suddenly pushed forward.  
He crashed into Kvist's desk, spinning around just in time to see Saal in his place.

"I don't want to cut his pretty face," Kvist drawled against Saal's neck, ignoring the Ravager, "after all, Jason is going to need that face when he's working here. By all rights, I should have you both service my clients for trying to steal from me, but..." Kvist rolled his hips against the Centurion, "something tells me Mister Frigid here would just be wasting my guest's time."

Uneasy disgust could be seen on Saal's face, clearly unfamiliar with being groped against his will.

Furious at both of them, Kvist for being an massive turdcicle and Saal for pulling yet another sacrificial stunt, Peter pulled his gun and aimed for Kvist. "How about you shut your face, Kvist?"

Kvist hesitated. "Are you going to risk hitting your master, boy?"

Saal managed a faint laugh. "You just made a big mistake, Kvist." He calmly met Peter's gaze, speaking every bit to him as the crazed man behind him. "You really shouldn't underestimate him."

"You're bluffing," Kvist barked. "You traded yourself so I wouldn't cut him. He won't shoot and risk hitting you."

Peter felt his stomach tighten with unease at the apologetic look on Saal's face.

"I'm too weak to stand seeing him hurt," Saal said, "but he knows what must be done. He can make the tough choices that I can't. He'd rather see me bleed than see me dead."

Two things happened at once.  
Kvist cut and Peter shot.

Starlord stared in mute horror at the arterial spray exploding from Saal's throat in the wake of the knife then the soldier and Kvist fell backwards as the bullet tore through them both.

Things went from slow motion to fast forward and Peter scrambled towards the fallen men.

Kvist was trying to clutch his wounded shoulder and sit up. Peter barely had time to place two finishing shots in the man's head as he only had eyes for Saal. 

The Centurion was slumped on his side, his back towards him, and Peter's hand trembled when he reached out and rolled him over on his back.  
Saal's left hand was around his throat, covered in blood, and when he tried to speak he ended up coughing blood.

The Ravager was just about to panic when Saal shook his head and wheezed; "I'm fine."

Peter pulled the blood-soaked hand away and was relieved to see the healed skin underneath. He then released him, sat back on his heels and hung his head low while trying to remember how to breathe.

-

For a moment,Saal's entire body was on fire with pain.   
The knife slicing his throat had felt like a searing hot blade and his mouth had flooded with blood at the same time as a crimson spray had painted the wall.

He didn't have much time to react as an invisible hand shoved him hard, the bullet, and they fell to the ground. Instinct made him grasp his throat in a futile attempt to stem the blood, but the Nova Force took over and closed the wound for him like he'd gambled it would.

It was only when he could breathe, if somewhat wetly thanks to the blood still in his mouth and throat, that Saal felt the numbing pain spreading from his right shoulder.

His right arm felt like a led weight when Peter rolled him over, but it also meant he was still alive.

Choking out a reassurance to the pale Ravager, Saal then proceeded to cough up the remaining blood to clear his airways.

Yep, he was very much in pain, but that wasn't what was worrying him.

The greater matter of concern was how chaotic the Nova Force felt within him.

"I swear," Peter whispered in a strained voice, "if you don't stop trying to kill yourself for me, I'm going to kill you myself, Garthan. This shit's gotta stop. I can't take it."

Saal tried to sit up, grunting with pain, and was relieved when the Ravager helped him.  
His mind was spinning and his arm was really starting to hurt. His right hand felt cold and distant.

"Dude, your arm," Peter said, letting Saal lean against him for support and reached out to carefully touch around the bullet hole in the jacket, "can't you heal it?"

It was hard to speak so Saal merely glanced up at him and saw Peter grow even paler.

In the Terran's eyes, the Centurion could see the Nova Force glow from his own eyes reflected there.

"I'm okay," Saal repeated with some difficulty, "but I'm afraid that... I need some time to recover... before I can use the Nova Force again..."

Peter nodded, a small and quick movement, and started to get up and help Saal on his feet as well. "Alright, buddy, upsy daisy. Someone's bound to have heard the shots. We need to get moving."

Swaying unsteadily and leaning heavily on Peter, Saal took a few seconds to find his balance and determination. 

"I took care of everything in our room," he said, feeling a little more steady. "We should just head for the docks."

"Yep," Peter agreed absently, taking another look at the bullet wound. "How's this? It's not bleeding too bad. Need me to wrap it up?"

Saal carefully clenched and unclenched his right hand, feeling the pain and how slow the red digits moved and decided it was nothing he couldn't handle. "We can deal with it back on the ship."

"You okay to walk?"

"I think so," Saal replied, a little dizzy and very aware of the ache, but set on finally getting away from that dreaded place. "Just don't start running."

"Yeah, well," Peter muttered, helping him along as they began to walk down the hall, "it would serve you right. Pulling a stupid stunt like that. I'm serious, Garthan, that shit's gotta stop."

Saal felt his lips tugging at a faint smile. "It worked though, didn't it?"

There was an angry scoff. "That's beside the point. You might have some weird fixation on sacrificing yourself, but I prefer you in one undamaged piece, you moron. No more heroics. That's my department."

"Let's just focus on making it to the docks first, yeah?" Saal swallowed hard against the wave of fresh pain running down his arm. "You can yell at me all you like when we're in safety."

"You bet your gorgeous ass I will," Peter muttered.

-

It was more than a little unsettling to see the blue glow still lingering in Saal's eyes, but at least the intensity seemed to abate.

Saal was mostly walking by himself, but Peter kept supporting him just in case and tried to ignore the drops of blood trailing behind them.  
The wound wasn't too serious, nowhere near life threatening, but it didn't sit well with him that Saal had forced him to pull the trigger.

Another thing Mister Big Boy was going to have to make up to him!

He nudged Saal into a doorway when he heard a guard approach and the two remained absolutely still as the guard halted and went back the way he came, leaving them undiscovered for the moment.

It wouldn't be long, Peter knew, before all hell would break loose. There was no way no one heard that shot and once they found Kvist's body...  
Starlord nudged Saal again, motioning for him to start walking again.

The Ravager made the mistake of thinking luck was on their side when they reached the entrance to the docks without being discovered or the alarm going off.

He cast a quick glance over at Saal, pale and sweaty, and tried to give him a reassuring smile.   
"Almost out of here, dude. You okay?"

Saal nodded, managing a faint smile of his own in return. 

When the doors to the docks opened, Peter's smile died and there was a sinking feeling in his chest.

Guards were milling everywhere!

They were armed, but didn't appear agitated. Clearly Kvist had a bad habit of having his docks under heavy guard.

Peter guided Saal through the doors and behind a corner. He let the Centurion rest a little by leaning back against the wall, closing his eyes and clutching his right arm, while Starlord stole peeks at the guards.  
Even if Saal hadn't been shot and wasn't bleeding, getting to the ship and leaving without a clearance would be a problem. Damn rich paranoid people and their paranoia! 

A muffled sound behind him made Peter spin around.

A mechanic had placed a hand over Saal's mouth and just as Peter was about to pull his gun and shoot him, he recognized the assailant.

"Yondu, the hell?" Peter hissed, his hand still on his gun.

Saal was all eyes over the hand.

The leader of the Ravagers grinned with smug satisfaction. "What took you so long, boy?"

Peter made a face. "I didn't think we had to hurry. Wanted to enjoy the experience. Beautiful scenery. Why are you here?"

"Well, you don't exactly have an awesome track record of keeping your word to me on these deals," Yondu drawled. "Decided to make sure you didn't run off with MY prize this time. And I kinda figured you two might get into some trouble. Stealth was never your thang, boy."

Saal reached up and tapped at the hand still covering his mouth and Yondu only released him to focus on the bullet wound.  
"I see I was right, as usual," Yondu declared. "Trigger happy guards?"

"No," Peter mumbled, taking the time to send a quick glare at Saal, "but we don't have much time before this place will be crawling with them."

"Time to git then," Yondu said, motioning for them to follow him.

Saal pushed away from the wall and breathed a faint laugh. "Never thought I'd be glad to see that man..."

Shrugging, Peter reached out to steady him. "You can always count on Yondu to look after his investments and he really does seem set on getting this gemstone."

"As long as it works to our advantage, I can't really complain about it this time," Saal said wearily. He hesitated, then glanced over at Peter. "I didn't want to ask, but I have to. Did you kill Hollend?"

Peter scoffed. "What? No!" He tugged at Saal for them to follow Yondu. "I just knocked him out and tied him up. But I wasn't lying when I said the man can't kiss. Dude. At all!"

-

Two days later Saal was sitting in a local diner on some minor planet he'd barely heard about.   
They had landed there as Yondu had decided on that planet as a rendezvous for both his crew as well as Gamora and the Guardians.

He was passing the time by sampling the food along with a surprisingly good local soft drink.

Peter was off somewhere with Yondu, but Saal didn't mind.  
Peace and quiet was much welcome after two days with the Ravagers and their sense of humor.

Once they had fled the Lotus Club, the alarm started to blare just as the ship was taking off, Saal had been tucked away to rest, his shoulder neatly bandaged, and he was able to heal himself shortly afterwards.

Yondu had been in a brilliant mood at their success. He'd even gone so far as to compliment Peter on his choice of companion as he clearly had a talent for crime.

Saal wasn't too sure if that really was a compliment in the true meaning of the word.

The Centurion was just finishing off a cake-ish treat when a voice called out his name.  
Surprised, and a little wary, Saal got up and turned to face whoever it was.

"Saal!" It was Cyan, a fellow Nova Corps soldier. He'd been serving as a bodyguard for their political emissaries.

"Cyan," Saal greeted, smiling as he took the hand held out to him. "It's been a long time."

To his credit, Cyan's eyes only darted briefly to Saal's scars, and his smile only wavered for a second. "Yes. Yes, it's been too long."

Saal motioned for the man to take a seat and did so himself afterwards. "Indeed. Heading back to Xandar?"

Cyan nodded, ordering something to drink from the waitress before focusing on Saal again. "We're going in for a couple of weeks R and R before next voyage." He cleared his throat and fidgeted slightly. "I heard about your... accident. I'm sorry."

Sighing, Saal caught himself before he could reach up for his scars. "I was lucky. A lot didn't make it at all."

"I'm glad you made it," Cyan said and it sounded sincere to Saal. "And congratulations is also in order?" He gestured towards Saal's shoulder. "That is a Centurion brand, I see?"

Saal nodded, a little sheepishly. "Nova Prime saw it fit to promote me."

"You always were meant for bigger things," Cyan declared, adding with no small amount of confusion, "but what's with the jacket?"

"I'm not a part of the ordinary Nova Corps at the moment," Saal replied.

Now Cyan gave a slight frown and leaned back in his chair. "So it's true?"

"That depends on what 'it' is."

"Rumor said you had gotten involved with a Ravager," Cyan said in a low voice. "I usually don't pay no mind to rumors..."

Saal couldn't help an amused smile. Had he really been like Cyan once? "It's true."

Startled, Cyan straightened slightly. "But..."

"But?" Saal asked, raising his eyebrows.

"But he's a criminal," Cyan hissed quietly.

Shrugging, Saal gave a little sigh. "That he is. And he's a good man. I discovered that the two don't always exclude the other. I owe him my life."

The words seemed to stump the other man for a while. Finally Cyan seemed to understand. "You love him."

"Yes."

"But your connection to him will cost you everything," Cyan pointed out. "You will be shunned in polite society. No one will hire a Centurion associated with Ravagers. You will never be Nova Prime."

Saal shrugged again. "I don't mind."

Cyan lowered his voice again and leaned slightly forward. "If it is your face... I know doctors who have worked miracles."

This actually made Saal chuckle. "The scars don't bother me anymore, Cyan. They did at first, I assure you. I hated the way I looked, along with everyone else on Xandar, but now I'd rather be with someone who cares for the person I am rather than for the way I look."

"All this for a Ravager?"

"Not just 'a Ravager'," Saal objected. "He's brave. He's kind. Clever. Funny. He's got a good heart, Cyan. What could be more important than that?"

-

The final celebration of the Five Senses in the Lotus Club had been Hearing and Peter had sulked quite a bit over the fact that he'd missed out on the final day.

He'd been curious. After all, Hearing, how could that lead to sexy times?

Now, as he stood half-hidden in the doorway, Peter realized just how important hearing could be.

His heart was beating hard in his chest and he felt light headed.

Listening in on Saal's private conversation had first been to give him time to finish talking to what appeared to be an old friend before dragging him away, but the more he heard the less Peter was able to move.

As much as he loved Saal, deeply and irrationally, he'd always known that the Centurion would one day leave him. It was only logical. Garthan came from a different world, physically and mentally, why would he settle for trash long term?  
The soldier was everything Peter once had dreamed to be but now wasn't.

A lifetime of good deeds would still not make Peter worthy of Saal, he'd always known that, so he'd decided to take what he could get and treasure every moment.

Yet, hearing this stranger point out all of Peter's weak spots and Saal deflecting them like they were nothing, it made Peter's eyes sting and his heart a desperate thing.

He couldn't stand it.

Stepping forward, he didn't halt until he was next to the table. "Saal."

"Peter," Saal blinked surprised, then smiled and gestured to his friend. "Peter, this is Cyan. A fellow soldier."

The man nodded, both curious and reserved. 

Peter gave him his best smile. "Hey." He then focused on Garthan again. "Uhm, sorry to be the party pooper, but we need to go. Gamora and the others are approaching orbit and we're set to hook up with them."

Saal nodded and got up. "Apologies, Cyan. It was good to see you again." He held out his hand and Cyan got up to shake it. "Safe journey back to Xandar."

"Thanks," Cyan replied with a smile. "And good luck."

Peter couldn't help fidgeting as they walked back towards the ship.

"Where's Yondu?" Saal asked, eyeing their surroundings as if worried the man might appear.

"Kraglin and the others picked him up," Starlord answered absently. "He said to say thanks."

They made it into the cargo room and the hatch closed just as Peter pulled at Saal.  
"What...?" The Centurion began, but eager hands pulled him down into a kiss and words became impossible for a good while.

Finally Peter pulled back a little and Saal opened his eyes almost drowsily.

"And what was that for?" Saal asked softly.

"I love you," Peter said gently, quickly adding, "you know that right? I mean, I told you once before, but you were kinda out of it, so I wasn't sure if you remember me telling you. But even if you didn't remember, you do know, right?"

Saal smiled.

"I mean, I know I'm not very good at saying it, like, in actual words," Peter kept on babbling. "It's not something I usually say. Heh, when I think about it, I haven't said it since I left Earth. But I do! I do love you."

Peter wasn't sure why it suddenly felt so very important to state this obvious fact, but he couldn't help himself and once he started it became very difficult to stop.   
One hand trailed over the side of Saal's flawless face, the other caressing the scars, and Starlord loved both sides equally.

"I just need to know that you know, okay?" Peter said, trying and failing at a confident look.

Saal raised his own hands and gently covered Peter's with them, unable to stop smiling. "I know," he reassured in a soft, deep voice.

Stupidly reassured, Peter exhaled a laugh and dove forward to wrap his arms around Saal and press hard against him. "Okay, then, big boy. So now what?"

"Now what, indeed," Saal sighed, placing his own arms around him. "Onwards, I guess."

"To what?"

"To whatever comes next."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I postponed posting this chapter for a while as I wasn't too sure whether to tie up the canoe for a bit or continue downstream for one more ride. Considering I have only half a plot bunny left, I was more than a little tempted to let this be the final chapter for now, until the next GotG movie comes out. However, I started having serious withdrawals at the mere idea of not writing about these boys and so I set out with only a vague idea of what is ahead. Hopefully first chapter will be up right after Easter. I hope you approve and I would also love to hear YOUR ideas! What situation would you love to see them in? What needs to be dealt with? (Other than Peter's dad. That will be on hold until we get the movie-verse explanation first.) Feel free to hunt me down on sulphuryasecretcloset.tumblr.com too if you got any plot bunnies up for adoption!


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